To Err Is to Be Human
by moogsthewriter
Summary: Post07movie, slight AU. A new threat arises. In a confrontation, one of the turtles becomes human. Family bonds will be tested, new relationships formed. The fate of the universe rests in the hands of only a few... full summary warnings inside Mikecentric
1. It Begins

_A/N: This is my newest story - I've been writing like a madwoman on this one. Unfortunately for you right now, you won't see that much because the prologue is super short... And yes, I realize that the title is a slight misquote, but this is a turtle-turns-human fic, so that is how it fits in. _

_Summary: Three years after the 2007 movie, a strange new threat arises. In a confrontation with this new enemy, one of the turtles becomes human. The brothers' relationship will be tested as it never has been before, new friends and foes will appear, and lives will be changed forever. The fate of the universe rests in the hands of only a few... will they be able to handle it? Mikeycentric, with eventual MikeyOC..._

_A few explanations. First off, this takes place three years after the 2007 movie. However, it does incorporate aspects of the 2003 cartoonverse and the recent "Fast Forward" episodes. I am also changing a few things from these universes, which is why I'm labeling it a slight AU. For the story, the turtles are approximately in their early twenties. _

_Secondly, this will be... edgier than my other fics, mainly because I've been using language to make it as realisitic as possible. I still believe in using as little as possible, but there will be some._

_Thirdly, the first part of this prologue takes place during the 2007 movie. It's main purpose is to introduce an important original character that will reappear later in the story. The last part of the prologue occurs when the story actually takes place, and it introduces a slight hint of what's going to come._

_Like I said, this prologue is miserably short. However, I do have the next couple of parts ready to go, and I promise, they are very long - longer than anything I have posted before. So please read and review and let me know what you think. I'll have the next part up ASAP!_

**_Disclaimer: I do not own the Ninja Turtles or anything closely related to them. The plot line, original characters, and a few other things are mine._**

_Three years ago_

"C'mon, little girly, whatcha afraid of? I ain't gonna hurt ya… much," the drunk sneered.

She backed away as he lurched towards her. "Back off, freak!" she cried, trying and failing to keep the tremor of fear out of her voice.

"Aw, aren't ya having fun? I like ta have fun," he crooned, pulling out a switchblade and grinning at her. "And I wanna have some fun wi' ya."

_How on earth do I get into these situations? _She wondered faintly as she backed up into the alley wall. She could see her bike lying on the ground several feet away. Unfortunately, she was going to have to get past the man to get to it. She hurriedly shoved some of her short dark hair out of her face, psyching herself up for the run for freedom and the most likely capture that would result.

"If ya want fun, I'll show ya some fun!" a strange voice suddenly quipped. Both the girl and the drunken man looked up as a shadow of a figure leapt down from the roof. It disappeared into the shadows. Then the voice came drifting out of the darkness. "I don't like it when guys pick on hot babes."

"Show yerself! Or are you all talk and no action?" the man shouted, his voice trembling.

"Oh, I've got plenty of action for ya," the figure growled. Suddenly a green blur leapt out of the shadows. Before she could move, there was a loud _thwack, _and it was gone again. The man, however, was lying on the ground, out cold.

She whirled when she heard the soft sound of a chain clacking together. "You okay, dudette?" the voice asked gently.

"I - yeah, I - well, thanks," she said gruffly, pushing the hair out of her eyes again. "I'm not used to needing saving," she added, trying to see him in the shadows.

She spotted a pair of sparkling blue eyes. "Yeah, you don't really look like you normally need a knight in shining armor. We'll just call this a one time thing, 'kay?" His voice had the faintest hint of a surfer accent to it.

She blushed slightly. With her short hair, her muscular figure and boyish clothes, she intimidated many people. _Not this guy though… he thought I was… _

"Michelangelo! Where'd ya go, bonehead?" a rough voice suddenly called. "We're already lookin' for Leo - don't make me hafta look for ya, too!"

The blue eyes disappeared for a moment as he blinked. "Sorry, gotta go. Duty calls!" he exclaimed. She heard a faint movement, and suddenly she spotted the figure three stories up on the fire escape. He was still hidden in shadow, but from what she could see… he didn't look human at all. Of course, it could've just been her eyes playing tricks on her…

"Thank you!" she called again as the figure neared the top of the roof.

He froze, then turned down. "No prob! You get back to takin' care of yourself, ya hear?" he called back; then he was gone.

She smiled faintly as she jogged back over to her bike. She still had to finish delivering the package she had been entrusted with before she was so rudely interrupted. _You certainly meet characters in the Big Apple!_

_Present Day_

High up above the rooftops of New York City, a brief glimmer appeared. Most of the people in the city couldn't even see it because of the bright glow caused by the billions of lights in the city. To those that could see it, it looked like nothing more than a small star, like the trillions of others in the nighttime sky.

It was no star.

Gradually the glimmer blazed brighter for a moment, then completely disappeared. However, on a gently sloping roof in the city, a new figure appeared. It looked around for a moment, then began to laugh. Soon the entire area was ringing with the sound of a harsh, evil laughter. "At last! Soon the portals will be mine to control! Then this pathetic world, and soon the universe, will be mine!"

_A/N: So... whaddya think? Like I said, miserably short, but the next part is ready, so just let me know if you wanna read it, okay? Thanks for reading!_

_moogsthewriter_


	2. A Transformation

_A/N: Whoohoo! 7 reviews already! I just wanna thank all of you who are reading, too. Hopefully the length of this chapter will make up for the shortness of my prologue! And now for some shoutouts..._

_**Artemisdesari **- Glad you liked the insert! It makes me happy to see people appreciate my work. Hope you like this part, too! _

_**VGiselleH **- Thank you!_

_**Rianne - ennaiR **- Thank you! Hopefully I came with the next part soon enough! _;-)

_**narutosfangurl **- Yes, now we're even, haha! And as for the ability - it just takes practice! Besides, you drew me in with your first chapter, so obviously you've got talent! _

_**memyselfandi89** - Haha! That's good - I'd love to see that manual. But there is an actual reason stated for why this guy is coming to Earth... you'll find out soon enough!_

_**Kirby-Chan263 **- Sorry! (bows, hangs head in shame) Would it help if I said I'm a selfish prat who only wanted to see what people thought of my pathetically short prologue? Here's the first part in all its glory for you!_

_**Frogirl95** - Thanks! I'm glad you like it! Here's the part you've been waiting for!_

_Once again, thank you to all of my readers, and especially my reviewers - you make me so happy! And without further ado..._

**_Disclaimer: TMNT aren't mine... please stop rubbing it in!_**

**_Rating: PG-13 for language, violence, and gore_**

On another rooftop not too far away, the sound of metal clanging against metal could be heard. There was a grunt, followed by a cry of frustration. "Looks like Leo wins again," Don commented casually, leaning against the support to a water tower.

"Shocker," Mikey added as he dangled from a cross brace.

"That was really good though, Raph. Your last attack nearly had me. If you had gone with a Dragon Fist Strike instead of a low roundhouse kick, you would have beaten me," Leo told his red masked sibling, panting heavily.

Raph sheathed his sai, wiping away some of the sweat on his forehead. He took a few deep breaths to try to get his frustration and anger under control. He hated losing to Leo. But then he remembered his fight with his older brother three years ago, on this very rooftop, which resulted in Leo's eventual capture and near death at Max Winters' headquarters. That memory always put things in perspective. Raph couldn't help but wonder if that was partly the reason why Leo insisted that they train there. "Thanks," the red-masked turtle said gruffly. Leo smiled faintly, nodding.

"Mikey, you're up next," Leo called, turning toward his younger brothers. Mikey grinned as he let go of the cross brace with his legs, landing on his hands and flipping to his feet.

Don shook his head, smiling faintly as Leo and Mikey began to spar, with Raph judging. It was nice to see his brother acting like a goofball again, and to see Raph and Leo back to their old selves, too. The last year and a half had been hard. After the fight against General Aguila and his comrades, Splinter's health had taken a turn for the worse. He tried to prepare his sons for his inevitable death, but no amount of preparation had helped when he had died after a year and a half of slowly wasting away.

After they had buried him up at Casey's grandma's farm, Raph had vanished for three days. The only sign that he was still alive and well were the continuous reports of Purple Dragons and other gang members being mysteriously put into comas, along with the whispered rumors that the Nightwatcher had returned. When Raph finally came home, he was bleeding and exhausted, but he looked strangely at peace.

Don had never been as grateful for Leo as he had been in the weeks following Splinter's death. Any resentment for Leo's long absence in Central America had vanished on the nights where his older brother came in and comforted the purple-masked turtle after a bad nightmare. When Mikey's deep funk resulted in him locking himself in his room for over a week, Leo was the only one that could convince him to open his door and talk. Leo had wisely kept his distance from Raph for the first few weeks, until he knew Raph was ready to talk. Don knew that without Leo, their family would have completely fallen apart.

As Don watched Mikey and Leo spar, he smiled. The last six months had been much better. He had returned to working as a support technician, and Mikey had begun to work at birthday parties again (albeit somewhat reluctantly and a little less often). Leo had started to relax more, and Raph was becoming more open again. Add in the fact that Casey and April had finally tied the knot, and they were once again a happy family.

"You've obviously been training, Mikey," Leo said with a faint smile as Mikey leapt away. "Not bad."

Mikey grinned impishly as he caught Leo's katana with a nunchuck. "I've got some great teachers," he replied. He then yanked the nunchuck up, pulling the sword from Leo's grasp. It flew through the air and landed point down on the roof next to Raph, who didn't even flinch.

"Good!" Leo encouraged. He suddenly spun around, taking Mikey's feet out from under him. In a flash, he was standing over his brother, the remaining katana hovering millimeters over his neck. Mikey looked shocked and sheepish. "But not quite good enough," Leo said with a smirk, stepping back and sheathing his katana. He held out a hand and helped Mikey up.

Suddenly there was a faint ringing sound. The others turned as Don immediately pulled out his shell cell. "Hello?"

"Donnie, it's me," came April's voice.

"April? What's wrong? Where are you at?" Don asked immediately. The others tensed.

"I'm fine; I'm at home with Casey. But the home alarm is ringing. Someone's trying to break-in to O'Neil Tech, and I can't get any response from the guards."

"Are you sure it's not another glitch?" Don pointed out. "I mean, the system's been having problems lately that I _still_ can't seem to fix," he added in slight annoyance.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out, Don. I know you can do it, and there's no one that I trust more with that task than you. But I don't think this is a glitch. The call's going through, but it just keeps ringing. I have a really, really bad feeling about this," April replied worriedly. "I was hoping…"

"You want to meet us there?" Don asked, smiling faintly.

April chuckled. "Why, Donatello, I thought you'd never ask!"

"We'll be there in ten," Don replied.

"It'll take us closer to twenty. If you guys go in, which I'm sure you will, be careful, okay?"

"You know us, Ape."

"Yeah, I do - too well. And please, try to keep it in one piece this time, okay? Winters could've afforded a skyrocket in insurance, but I can't for the moment," April said wryly.

"We'll try. I promise. See ya," Don answered, and hung up. He turned to his brothers. "Someone's trying to break into the lab," he told them. "She's safe for now, but the guards aren't answering. She's worried and she wants to check it out with us."

"So it's possibly something serious, then," Leo said softly. "Come on, guys, let's go."

They leapt over the side of the building, grabbing onto the fire escape to slow their falls, landed next to the Battle Shell, and quickly climbed in. Don slid behind the wheel and pulled out of the alley with a screech, heading towards Winters' former headquarters.

After Winters' death, they had been shocked to discover that he had left almost all of his vast fortunes to several charities… and had named April as the heir to his company. "She is the only one I have seen that can handle both the pressures of running a public company and make it profitable for private people," he had stated in his will. How he had come to that conclusion (or what that even fully meant) no one knew for sure, but April had taken every advantage of the opportunity, and she was doing quite well. She had had very little fight in taking control of the company - most people thought it would be foolish to invest in a company that was about to go down. That was their biggest mistake. Although the value of the stocks of the company had dropped, it wasn't nearly as bad as economists had been expecting. April had renamed the company O'Neil Tech and had focused more on the scientific aspect of the firm, selling many parts of it to other private companies. In less than three years, O'Neil Tech had risen from the ashes to become one of the world's leading technology developers. The turtles and Casey were quite proud of their little CEO. When asked if he was bothered by the name of the company, Casey proudly replied, "Nah. She's the brains, so she deserves to have the company named after her. I'm just the backup."

Leo shook his head slightly, smiling faintly as he thought of his friends. Although they couldn't go to the actual wedding ceremony for obvious reasons, Casey had told them that they were all secret honorary groomsmen for him, with Raph as the best man. _He's such a bonehead sometimes… but he's a very good friend,_ Leo thought wryly.

"I don't see anythin' too outta the ordinary," Raph commented as the tower came into view.

"Yeah, well, it's a big building. Just wait till we get inside," Don replied as he parked the Battle Shell expertly in a nearby alley.

"You designed the defense systems, Don. What's the easiest way in?" Leo asked as the Battle Shell shut down.

"There's no real easy way in," Don began.

"Oh, come on, you're telling me you didn't include a secret entrance in the sewers just for us, Donnie?" Mikey joked.

Don raised an eye ridge. "Actually, I did. Follow me," he said with a smirk, leaping out of the back of the assault vehicle. The others were right on his tail.

Don led them down a nearby manhole into the sewers. "These run directly under the building," he whispered as they crept along the side. "And right about… here…" he trailed off, feeling the wall with his fingers. With a little sound of satisfaction, he pressed a brick. A section of the wall suddenly slid back and out of the way, revealing a small metal tunnel, just big enough for them to fit. "This is our way in," Don told them, climbing in.

"Did I ever mention I was claustrophobic?" Raph asked as he climbed in behind his brother.

"Yeah, small spaces scare me," Mikey said, sliding in.

"Tha's what claustrophobic means, meathead," Raph growled.

"I know, Raph," Mikey replied testily.

"Cool it, guys, stay focused, okay?" Leo warned as the entrance slid closed behind them, sealing them in darkness. A brief moment later, a few soft lights lit up, providing just enough light for them to see. "Where does this tunnel lead to, Donnie?"

"To the elevator shaft at the first sublevel," Don replied. He suddenly froze, causing Raph to bump into him. "Shh!" he hissed as Raph started to protest.

They all froze for a moment, straining to listen. Then they heard it - a faint crash, followed by another, and then a small exclamation of frustration. "Move quickly," Leo whispered, and they silently moved forward.

After a moment, they reached the end of the tunnel. Don slid out of the tunnel onto the top of the elevator. He made his way to the emergency exit as the others popped out. He gingerly slid the cover open half an inch and peered down. There was no one inside, although it appeared the elevator door was open. He glanced up at his brothers, who all nodded. Leo pointed down, and Don quickly slid the cover open the rest of the way. Leo landed silently in a crouch, then moved to the side of the open door. After a moment, he waved at them to come down, and they all gathered around the open elevator door, peering inside the lab.

"Du-ude," Mikey whispered. The others stared with wide eyes.

The figure in the lab was huge - eight feet tall, and probably at least half as wide, with hulking arms and legs, and a wicked looking set of spikes running down his back. Two spikes protruded from his wrists, and there were three short ones on each of his legs. He was tossing equipment around, apparently trying to find something. "Guys," Leo hissed suddenly, pointing. They followed the direction of his hand. Mikey recoiled, Don put his hand over his mouth, and Raph tensed noticeably.

The guards were heaped in a pile in the corner… or what was left of them, anyway. The walls were covered with arterial spray, and they could see chunks of flesh and bits of bone scattered on the floor. It appeared a couple of them had been decapitated, and several limbs had been ripped from their bodies. "Shit," Raph muttered.

"Let's get him," Leo hissed, silently drawing a katana. The others nodded, pulling out their own weapons. With a yell, they leapt into the room.

The beast whirled, smirking at them. They could see blood splattered across his chest and smeared on the spikes on his wrist. "Excellent. It worked," he growled in a low voice.

"What worked? What do you want?" Leo demanded, settling into an attack stance.

"You four closed the portal three years ago. That means you can open all of them," he replied.

"All of them?" Don exclaimed, shocked.

"Who are you?" Raph growled.

"I? I am Jen-Ju. And in response to the other kappa's question, this puny little world is a nexus for several portals into different dimensions. I aim to open all of them and, with the power and monsters unleashed from them, rule the universe."

"It's always about ruling the universe, isn't it? Why does every villain want to rule the universe?" Mikey asked cheekily.

"Why do you think we can open the portals?" Leo demanded, ignoring his brother.

"You closed the smallest one three years ago. In all, there are four portals on this planet. When you closed the first of the four, you were each endowed with a lot of power, although you may not have recognized it. However," Jen-Ju paused, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I don't think this form will allow me to access that power. You will all have to be purified."

"If you think we're gonna help ya in any way, you're messed!" Raph exclaimed.

"We're fine just the way we are - we don't need purifying!" Mikey added, offended.

"If the one we closed was the _smallest_ one…" Don whispered to Leo.

"Then we could be in some serious trouble," Leo finished softly. "Why do you need us? Can't you open them yourself?" he called loudly to Jen-Ju.

"Are you encouragin' him?" Raph hissed. Leo shot him a glare.

"I can. But, unfortunately, I can only open the first one without killing myself. Since there are four of you who could, I could use the power from your forms, one for each portal," Jen-Ju replied.

"We aren't going to help you," Don said harshly.

"Ain't gonna happen," Raph interjected.

"Why would we, if it's gonna kill us?" Mikey added.

Jen-Ju smirked. "I don't need you to cooperate. I just need you to be purified and in the right place at the right time," he told them. He closed his eyes. They stared in amazement as the spikes on his wrists began to glow. Jen-Ju opened his eyes and settled into an attack stance. "Now then. Let's begin."

"Let's get him, guys," Leo ordered as Jen-Ju began charging at them. "Work together and attack as one!"

The turtles leapt forward, weapons flying and attacked Jen-Ju. "Whoa!" Raph exclaimed, ducking as Jen-Ju's spiked wrist sailed over his head. "Careful, guys. Watch out for his spikes!" he warned his brothers.

"That was a 'Duh' statement," Mikey commented. He suddenly cried out in pain as Jen-Ju's fist smashed into his plastron.

"Mikey!" Don exclaimed as his brother went flying backwards, landing in a giant puddle of blood next to the bodies of the guards.

Mikey's eyes widened when he realized where he was, and he backpedaled. "Ew, ew, ew! Gross, gross, gross, gross!" he exclaimed, turning away from the gory sight and trying not to vomit.

Leo, seeing that Mikey appeared to be okay, leapt back in, katanas flashing, as he tried to find a weak spot. "Leo, look out!" Don suddenly cried, leaping forward to knock his brother out of the path of Jen-Ju's kick. One of the short spikes caught the purple-masked turtle in the side. He twisted in the air and landed in a heap next to his brother.

"Donnie!" Leo cried, turning his brother over onto his back.

"I'm okay," Don gasped, sitting up. Blood flowed from a wound in his side between his plastron and his shell, but it appeared to be a shallow gash. "I'm okay, Leo. We'll worry about it later," he reassured his brother as he stood. Leo nodded.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion. They all whirled as something crashed through the wall near Mikey. As the dust settled, they heard a familiar voice call out, "Hey, guys, no fair startin' the party without us!"

"This ain't a party, Casey," Raph growled, turning to his friends as they climbed out of their smaller version of the Battle Shell.

"Oh, my g-" April suddenly screamed, clapping her hand over her mouth as she spotted the bloody remains of her guards. Then she spotted Mikey, who was slowly getting to his feet. "Mikey!" she exclaimed, seeing all of the blood on his shell and legs.

"Don't worry, it's not mine," Mikey told her grimly.

"Let's take care of this freak," Casey exclaimed, yanking his goalie mask down over his face and whipping out a baseball bat.

Jen-Ju chuckled. "We'll see about that," he growled. With simultaneous yells, the turtles and April and Casey launched themselves at the monster.

All shell broke loose. Turtles and humans were leaping in and out of the fray, trying to avoid the spikes all over Jen-Ju's body. Suddenly, Jen-Ju roared and spun, knocking everyone backwards.

"Not again!" Mikey exclaimed as he landed in the blood.

There was a loud thud as April flew into the hood of the Battle Shell. Raph and Casey slammed into a computer desk, sending sparks flying everywhere. Leo landed on the ground and rolled a few times, and Don collided with a wall. They all groaned in pain as they struggled to their feet.

"Think I broke some ribs," April gasped, grasping her chest and leaning on the hood of the truck.

"Oh, my head," Casey groaned, pulling his mask up. He turned to look at Raph, who was rubbing his right shoulder. "Dude, are you okay?" Casey asked, his eyes wide as he saw the dip in Raph's shoulder.

Raph winced as he slowly bent down, letting his arm hang loosely towards the ground. With a soft pop, it went back into place. Raph stood back up straight and gently rolled his shoulder, hissing in pain. "Geez, I hate it when I do that," he said through clenched teeth.

Leo stood, wincing and putting most of his weight on his right leg. It felt as though he had sprained his ankle badly, although he didn't think it was broken. He glanced over at Don, who was clenching his side. Blood was trickling through his fingers. He made eye contact with his older brother. "I'll be fine," he mouthed. Leo looked at him skeptically, but didn't comment as Jen-Ju began to chuckle. Six pairs of eyes focused on the monster.

"Pathetic," Jen-Ju growled. They all froze as he aimed a wrist spike at April. "Just plain pathetic," Jen-Ju said. There was a faint hiss, and suddenly his spike shot at April. They all gasped as April stayed rooted to the spot.

"No! April!"

Silence fell as the sickening sound of the spike cutting through flesh and bone before hitting something hard rang in their ears. Jen-Ju smiled as the others stared in silent shock.

"No," Raph finally choked out, his eyes beginning to sting.

April stared blankly in front of her. "M-Mikey?" she whispered.

The orange-banded turtle slowly looked down at the spike protruding from his chest. Blood gushed out around it, quickly covering his plastron and dripping on the floor. He looked up and locked eyes with Leo for a moment.

Leo stared in horror at his brother as he started to sway. "Mikey!" he suddenly screamed as Mikey fell backwards. April rushed forward and caught him awkwardly, easing him down to the ground.

"Mikey, stay with me," April choked, tears streaming down her face. Mikey looked up at her. Blood was flowing freely from his mouth, and his breath was coming in ragged gasps. "I just - you - why?"

"Couldn't let… get… hurt," Mikey gasped.

"I'm impressed. I didn't think he would make it in time," Jen-Ju said, crossing his arms. "He's a fast little guy, I'll give him that."

They all whirled to face him. "You - you knew?" Don stammered. Raph was growling dangerously.

"I assumed. He was close, and I've seen your kind before - thinking death for the life of another would be a righteous and noble act. If you hurry, though, you might be able to save him. Maybe," Jen-Ju replied smugly.

"I'm gonna kill you," Raph hissed angrily.

Jen-Ju shook his head. "I'll be back three days before the next portal opens. If the little one is not killed, he will be purified. He shall be the first to help me open the portal," he said. Suddenly there was a blinding flash. When they could see again, there was only a minor scorch mark where Jen-Ju had been standing.

Raph roared in anger, cursing wildly. Leo and Don ignored him, rushing over to Mikey and April. Casey put one hand on his friend's shoulder. Raph turned, and saw the mist covering the older man's eyes. Casey jerked his head towards the others. Raph nodded, and together they rushed over to Mikey.

"Oh, shit, oh, sh- Mikey, you're gonna be okay. You hear me? You're gonna pull through," Don choked out, grabbing his brother's blood-slicked hand. Mikey looked up at him with hooded, pain-filled eyes.

"Donnie, you gotta do something!" Leo urged. Don nodded, releasing his brother's hand and wiping his eyes before he started prodding the area around the wound.

Mikey whimpered and arched his back. "Shh, shh, it's alright," April murmured soothingly. She placed a calming hand on his head. "Just hang on for me, Mike. Please."

"Can't you jus' pull the damn thing out?" Raph demanded, wiping his eyes furiously.

"I can try," Don replied. "It's just in there so deep…" He took a breath, then reached out and touched the spike.

Suddenly both Don and Mikey cried out in pain as the spike glowed faintly. Don yanked his hands away and held them to his chest. Immediately the spike stopped glowing, leaving Mikey wheezing for breath.. "What the shell was that?" Casey exclaimed.

Leo gently grabbed hold of one of Don's hands and pried the fingers open. The skin on his fingers was raw and red. Drops of blood oozed out of a few places. "Ouch," he whispered, looking up at Don.

"We gotta figure out a way t' get that thing outta him!" Raph said, kneeling down next to Mikey and grabbing his hand. Mikey squeezed it tightly.

"Casey, can you find me something to grab it with?" Don asked. Casey immediately got up and ran off. Don turned back to face Mikey. "Does it still burn, bro?" he asked gently. Mikey weakly shook his head. His breaths were fewer and far between now.

"Hurts… though," he managed to gasp.

"I bet," Raph choked out, ignoring his own sore shoulder.

"I found some gloves from a hazmat suit," Casey called as he sprinted towards them. "Will these work?" he asked Don as he fell to his knees behind the brainy turtle.

"I hope so," Don replied, pulling the gloves on and turning back to Mikey. He grasped the weapon with both hands.

Raph gasped as Mikey tightened his grip. He felt his fingers pop painfully as Mikey screamed weakly. Don stopped, and Mikey's grip on Raph's hand loosened slightly. "S-sorry," he whispered apologetically, looking up at Raph. Raph squeezed gently in reply.

"I - I can't. I can't take it out," Don gasped, sitting back. He yanked the gloves off and rubbed his eyes. "Not without hurting him more."

"So - so what're we gonna do? It's not like we can take him to a hospital or anything," Leo said.

Suddenly Mikey stiffened and his breathing seemed to hitch. "Mikey? Mikey!" April cried as his blue eyes glazed over. He went limp, and his eyes slid shut. His hand slid out of Raph's grip. "No! Stay with us, Mikey! Mikey!" April screamed frantically, shaking his head back and forth as if trying to wake him up.

"Please, bro, you can't go!" Raph begged.

"He's not breathing!" Don choked out. "We're gonna lose him!"

"Then do something, damn it!" Leo ordered, panicky. Casey sat in stunned silence.

They all gasped as the spike glowed again. They watched as it seemed to dissolve into Mikey's body. "What the-" Casey began, but was cut off as a blinding flash filled the room. They all blinked, eyes watery. April suddenly gasped, and they looked down.

"Holy shit," Raph deadpanned.

Cradled in April's lap was a naked young man. He was tall and lean, and he had a mop of curly brown hair on his head. His face was oval shaped, with a slightly pointed chin and high cheekbones. There was a gaping hole in his chest. "Is that - Mikey?" Leo gasped.

"I - I think so," Don stammered. He pointed at the loose belt around the boy's waist with a pair of nunchucks tucked in it and the fabric tied around his wrists, elbows, and knees. Then his gaze moved to the wound in his chest. "It's gotta be."

"Hon, quick, go grab some blankets from the bunk room," April told Casey. "He's breathing again, and I don't want to lose him." Casey nodded and ran off once more.

"How the shell - I mean, why -" Raph's eyes suddenly narrowed. "This must be what Jen-Ju meant by purification."

April looked at the three of them seriously. "He could go to a hospital now," she told them softly.

They looked at each other. If they sent Mikey to a hospital, that meant they wouldn't be able to see him for a while - possibly never again, if he died. But, on the other hand… "You'd better call the cops, Don," Leo said softly after a moment. "They're gonna need to investigate this, anyway," he added, looking over at the remains of the guards. Don nodded and pulled out his shell cell.

Raph hesitantly reached out and fingered Mikey's hair. After a moment, he whispered, "Promise you'll stay with him, Ape?"

April smiled faintly. "As much as humanly possible, Raph. And I'll try to get him a private room with a window so you can sneak in to see him, okay?" she said gently. Raph nodded, too choked up to speak as he continued fingering Mikey's hair.

Casey rushed back in with an armful of blankets. "Here ya go, babe," he said, handing the blankets to April.

"Wait," Leo said suddenly. He gently took all of Mikey's gear off and stuck it in his belt. He then nodded at April and Casey, and together they wrapped him tightly in blankets. April wadded one up to staunch the blood flow.

"They'll be here shortly," Don said, turning back to his family as he put his shell cell away. He looked up at April. "I sure hope you can come up with a story for this one."

"I think I can. But I'll need you to go back and copy, then erase all of the security footage. I'd like to see it, but we don't need the cops seeing it, especially since you guys are on there, okay?" Don nodded in agreement, and she looked back down at Mikey. After a moment, she added, "And I need you to go into the personnel files and create one for a Michael O'Neil. He's a cousin whose first night was tonight, okay?"

"Thanks, Ape," Leo said softly.

"What're friends for?" she replied. They all paused as they heard sirens in the distance. "You guys better do your thing."

The three remaining turtles looked at their younger brother. Leo reached out and placed a hand on Mikey's cheek. "Keep fighting, Mikey. We'll be watching and waiting, bro," he whispered. He looked at his brothers. "Let's go." They nodded.

April readjusted her grip on the quickly bloodying blanket. She could see blood oozing up every time Mikey's heart beat. "Hold on, Mikey," she whispered as the other turtles disappeared into the shadows. "Just hold on."

_A/N: There you have it - the longest chapter I believe I've ever written! (And quite possibly the worst cliffie!) The next part is just about ready to go up, so let me know what you thought, and I'll get working on that and have it up ASAP! Thanks for reading!_

_moogsthewriter_

_Confidential to my "Sewer Buddies" - If you're confused when reading this - I did change the name from Rotec to Jen-Ju. Just FYI_


	3. So Now What?

_A/N: Wow! Ten more reviews! Glad you guys like it so far! So... shoutouts... I don't have time for review replies, but I do want to say thanks to:_

_**KriStALKaLEi, Kirby-Chan263, KleeZeeNex, Emily, memyselfandi89, VGiselleH, Just-Caro, narutosfangurl (aka my groupie!!), Rianne - ennaiR, and last but not least, Frogirl95** for all your great reviews! Thanks so much, and thanks to all of you who have been reading! Hope you enjoy this next chappie!_

**_Rating: Still PG-13, although mainly for language this time._**

**_Disclaimer: I only own Jen-Ju and my other OCs that will be making an appearance - eventually..._**

"Hello? Hello?" a voice called out suddenly.

"In here, quickly! I don't know how much longer he'll hold out!" Casey bellowed. April increased the pressure over the wound subconsciously.

Two paramedics rushed in. One nearly slipped in all of the blood. "What the - what in heaven's name happened here?" he gasped, staring at the mutilated bodies.

"Please, you've got to help him!" April cried.

The EMTs wrenched their eyes away from the gore and quickly knelt down next to the trio. "Can you tell me anything about what's happened?" the second one asked they began looking at Mikey.

"A little. I'm April Jones, CEO of O'Neil Tech, and this is my husband, Casey. We were at home when an alarm sounded, alerting me to a break-in at the lab. When I tried to get a hold of the guards, there was no answer, so we rushed over here."

"Were you driving that?" the first medic asked with a glance at the truck that was still embedded in the wall.

"Uh, yeah, I kinda have a flair for the dramatic," Casey said sheepishly.

April could've sworn she heard a snort of suppressed laughter, but the medics didn't seem to notice anything. One glance at Casey, though, told her she wasn't imagining things. _They're still around,_ she thought. _I figured they would be._

"Did you see who did this?" the first medic murmured, pulling April's hands away from the blanket and looking at Mikey's chest. His face whitened.

"No," April said quickly. "When we came in, we saw a bright flash of light. After we could see again, we saw all of the bodies, so we immediately called you guys." Her eyes suddenly widened slightly. _Crap! We had Donny call! _

"Why weren't the police alerted before?" the second medic inquired as he pulled a wad of gauze out of his kit.

"The security system is relatively new, and it's been having some bugs in it. Last week the alarm sounded, and I couldn't get a good connection over the phone with anyone here. I quite frankly assumed the same thing was happening, only with no connection," April answered half-truthfully.

Police officers began streaming in, along with a few firefighters. "What the hell?" one officer exclaimed, pushing his hat back on his balding head in shock. The others just stared, speechless.

A few more medics came in with stretchers. "Jack, over here!" the first medic called. One of the other medics hurriedly rushed over with a stretcher. "He's got a deep chest wound on the left side. I think it missed his heart, but he's probably going to need part of a lung removed," the medic continued as they began strapping Mikey to the stretcher. "He's going to need transfusions for sure. Ma'am, do you know his blood type?" he asked with a quick glance at April.

April froze, looking at Casey. There was a flare of panic in his eyes. _Does he even have a blood type? I know Raph's able to donate to him, but would he be able to have human blood now? _she wondered frantically. "No. He's my family, but he's had a very, very sheltered life. His father was very protective," she said finally. "I don't even know if he's ever been to a hospital before." Casey looked at her, his mouth slightly opened in shock, but his eyes radiated pride. April felt herself blush slightly.

"Alright, then. Since we don't have much time, call the hospital and tell them to get two units of O ready for transfusion," the first medic told Jack. Jack nodded and rushed back out. The other two medics finished strapping Mikey down and began to load him out to the ambulance.

"Wait, can I come with you, please? He's like a little brother to me, and I'm worried about his reaction to a hospital environment if he were to wake up without me there," April begged.

The two medics glanced at each other, then nodded. "Yes, I suppose that would probably be a good idea," the second replied. "But we've got to move quickly."

"I'll catch up with ya later, babe," Casey told April, giving her a quick kiss. "I'll handle everythin' here."

April smiled faintly. "Thanks, hon. I do have my cell if you have any questions," she replied before turning and heading after the medics.

_Hang on, little buddy,_ Casey thought grimly as Mikey was wheeled out of sight.

* * *

Up above them, from their lookout in the ventilation shafts, the three remaining turtles sat and watched the medics begin to work on their baby brother. "She's good," Don whispered after hearing April's explanation to the medics.

Raph couldn't hold back a small snort as Casey announced his flair for the dramatic. Leo tensed as April and Casey looked at each other knowingly, but the medics didn't seem to notice anything.

Don's eyes suddenly widened the same time as April's. "Crap!" he said softly. "I called the cops!"

"So?" Raph replied with a shrug.

"So if they decide to go back and listen to the tapes, they'll hear my voice, and they'll know April's hiding something!" Don snapped back in a whisper.

Leo put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's too late now - you did what you had to to help Mikey. If it becomes a problem, we'll deal with it," he reassured his brother.

They looked back as more people rushed in. One medic wheeled a stretcher over toward Mikey. They strained to hear the conversation over the other people. "… deep chest wound… left… sed his… need par… ung ..moved," one medic announced. He turned to April. "Need… nsfusio… do… blood type?"

They all froze and looked at Donny, who's eyes widened. "Our blood's different," he told them.

"Do you think his changed?" Leo asked softly.

Don didn't reply, listening to April's response. "No… my …ly… shelt… life… father… otective… don't know… hospi… fore," she said after a moment.

Don smiled faintly. "Good girl," he whispered.

"What'd she say?" Raph asked.

Don held up a finger as the lead medic started talking again. This time, they couldn't make out any words, and they watched as Mikey was wheeled away. April and Casey murmured something to one another, and then with a quick kiss, April headed after the medics. Finally, Don turned to his brothers and said, "I think they were saying that the wound must've missed something, probably his heart, but that they'll probably have to remove some of his lung. He needs blood transfusions, but April basically told them he's had a sheltered life with a very protective father, and she didn't think he's been to the hospital before."

Raph chuckled softly. "Tha's our girl," he murmured, looking down as some of the police officers began to ask Casey some questions. Some people were taking pictures of the whole lab.

"Come on, we'd better get outta here before they find us. Donnie's got some work to do," Leo said finally. They nodded and silently began heading toward the secret exit.

Don led the way. Raph frowned as every now and then, he felt a wet drop of something under his hands. "Don, are you bleedin'?" he asked softly.

Leo's eyes widened and he cursed softly under his breath when he remembered Don's injury. "I'm fine, guys. It only needs a few stitches," Don replied. "I'm guessing that you both have injuries to deal with as well."

Raph suddenly became aware of the throbbing pain in his shoulder. "I guess we kinda forgot about 'em," he whispered, hearing Leo hiss softly in pain.

"I can believe that," Don answered softly.

Soon they climbed into the Battle Shell. "Leo, you drive. I've gotta start taking care of the security footage," Don murmured, climbing into the back and booting up a computer. The rest of the ride was spent in silence. They were still silent as they made their way down into the lair. Finally Don spoke again as he looked at his brothers' injuries. "Raph, your shoulder should be fine, as long as you don't move it too much. I highly recommend a sling, but, knowing you…" he trailed off as Raph snorted. "I'd ice it, too, if I were you. Leo, let me wrap up your ankle for now, just to be safe," he said softly as Raph headed into the kitchen.

"What about you?" Leo pointed out as Don started wrapping his ankle tightly.

"I'll butterfly it shut. I can probably get away without stitches, but if it starts bleeding again, I'll take care of it," Don replied tersely. Leo pressed his lips shut to keep back his retort. He knew that Don was a classic example of the phrase, "A doctor is his own worst patient." He usually got so caught up in helping the others that he forgot about his own injuries. Generally, the only one who could even get Don to stop and take care of himself was… Mikey. _Aw, damnit... Mike…_Leo swallowed hard, remembering the awful moment where Mikey had stopped breathing…

Don glanced up as Leo's shoulders sagged. "This isn't your fault, Leo," he said softly, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Damn straight," Raph declared, walking out of the kitchen with an ice pack on his shoulder.

"Raph, language," Don said automatically. He could practically sense Raph roll his eyes from across the room. He looked back at Leo. "You know as well as I do that if Mikey hadn't done what he did, April would be the one who was stabbed."

"And I doubt she'd have survived it," Raph added grimly.

When Leo didn't respond, Don forced his head up so he could look his brother straight on. "Raph has a point, Leo. The fact that Mikey has-" He paused, thought for a moment, swallowed hard, then corrected, "_Had_ - a plastron probably kept him from dying instantly. It slowed the spike down. And you know that if it had been any one of us in his situation, we would have done the same thing."

"I - I suppose you're right," Leo replied softly. "But that doesn't stop me from looking back and wondering if there wasn't something I could've done…" He trailed off, looking away.

Don glanced up as Raph slowly made his way over. "We're gonna get through dis, Leo," he said softly but firmly. Leo looked up at him. "We have to - for Mikey's sake," Raph added with a one-armed shrug. He then turned to Don. "Go patch yourself up, egghead, or so help me, I will strap ya down and stitch ya up m'self."

"Yeah, and we all know how well _that_ turned out last time," Don muttered sarcastically, making his way to the lab to grab some more supplies.

"Hey, it healed up, didn't it?" Raph shouted.

"Only because Splinter made me drink some herbal tea that just about had to be drugged, then took out the old stitches and put in new ones!" Don called.

"Just because you can't handle strong tea…" Raph teased.

"I know there was something wiggy in it, Raphael! And I wouldn't be surprised if you snuck it in there!" Don shot back. Raph smirked, glancing at Leo, who looked completely confused.

"Oh, yeah… it was while ya were gone - a couple months after ya left, actually," Raph said, understanding dawning on his face. "We were headin' back from April's one night when we spotted a few of them Purple Dragons. One of 'em got lucky wi' his knife and managed to catch Donnie in th' side. Splinter was out gettin' supplies when we came back, and Don was about ta pass out, and y'know how Mikey is with… blood…" His voice faded out when he thought of his baby brother, bathed in blood.

"Raph?" Leo asked softly when Raph turned away.

"Y'know what the worst part about this shit is?" Raph suddenly exclaimed, whirling back to face Leo. Leo could see moisture glimmering his brother's eyes. "We can't even be there t' help him through dis! I mean, 'e's gonna wake up in some hospital wi' no freakin' clue what happened to 'im! An' we won' be there to help him calm down… Leo, what if he starts spouting out how he's supposed to be a turtle, and they chuck him in the loony bin or somethin'?" he asked worriedly.

"Then we'll go in there and bust him out," Leo said seriously, although his lips were twitching. Raph stared at him for a long moment, then grinned and chuckled.

"Now _that_ would be interestin'," he said with a shake of his head as he headed for the living room, muttering, "Wouldn't hafta worry about bein' seen… people just think they're actin' crazy as usual…"

Leo glanced over as Don emerged from his lab sporting a clean white bandage on his side. "Happy now?" Don muttered with a smirk.

Leo shrugged, his face turning sober. "'Bout as happy as I can be, I suppose," he replied. Don bit his lip and looked away. "Sorry, Don."

"'S' not your fault," the purple-clad turtle mumbled in reply.

"Guys, c'm'ere!" Raph suddenly shouted from the living room. "They got it on the news!" Don rushed; Leo hobbled over to the sofa. Raph cranked the volume up so they could all hear.

"… apparently a scene of complete carnage. Authorities have not allowed any news media in, but forensic specialists have been seen carrying out bags filled with what appears to be human flesh and bone, as well as high amounts of blood," the male reporter stated. He appeared to be standing outside O'Neil Tech. His blond hair was fluttering slightly from a breeze, and they could see emergency lights flashing behind him. "There is an unconfirmed report that at least one guard may have survived the attack, and that he has close connections with O'Neil Tech CEO and founder, April O'Neil-Jones. Channel 9 News will continue to bring you updates as this story progresses." The newscaster's face disappeared, and a commercial for a diet pill came on.

Don sighed as Raph muted the TV. "I'd better go set up Mikey's personnel file," he muttered, standing slowly. He winced and clutched his side loosely.

Leo opened his mouth, shut it again, then said, "You took care of the security footage, right?"

Don nodded. A faint smile pulled at his lips. "I found the first few frames when Jen-Ju appeared in the lab, then copied and deleted the rest of it. That should give the cops something to work with that doesn't implicate us. When I'm done with setting up a file on Mikey, I'll check it out."

"Sounds good. Make sure you try to get some rest, though, okay, bro? Don't overdo it," Leo warned as Don plodded off to his lab.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, Mom," Don replied, waving a hand at him. Leo shook his head exasperatedly. He stood and stretched, keeping his weight off his bad ankle.

"You turnin' in?" Raph asked quietly, shutting the TV off after flicking through a few channels.

"I'm gonna try and meditate. I don't think I'm gonna be able to sleep for awhile," Leo admitted after a moment. Raph nodded slightly, staring at the blackened screen. Leo started heading off towards his room, then paused and turned back to face his brother. "Raph, when you start going at your punching bag, try not to use your bad arm, okay? If you do, you could wreck it."

"I know, Leo," Raph growled. "This ain't the first time I done this, ya know."

"And you could always strengthen up your left arm more," Leo continued without pause, acting almost oblivious to what Raph was saying.

"M'wa?" Raph asked, almost offended. His eyes narrowed when Leo shot him a smirk.

"Just messin' with you, bro. But do avoid using that arm," he said dryly before heading into his room and sliding the door shut.

"Was that a joke?" Raph called in astonishment. "Leonardo's actually jokin'?" He heard Leo chuckle faintly.

Raph sighed and went back to staring at the TV. After a moment, he vaguely noticed that the ice pack on his shoulder was getting warm. He stood with a small grunt and made his way back into the kitchen, unwrapping the towel he had used to secure it into place. He opened the freezer, carelessly tossing the old pack in and grabbing a new one, wrapping it back up in the towel and tying it with one hand on his shoulder. He subconsciously sucked in a breath as the icy cold touched his skin. His hands moved robotically, without a second thought - his mind was back in that lab, focused on the memory of his little brother collapsing to the ground, blood pooling everywhere… the sound of his harsh, ragged breaths…

Raph growled, then blinked as he became aware of a new pain in his left hand. He looked down and was faintly surprised to see it resting in a new dent in the refrigerator door. He slowly uncurled his fist and was shocked to see blood covering his hands. Looking down at himself, he could see blood smeared all over his body. He blanched. How had he not noticed this before? He was covered in… Mikey's… blood…

"Oh shit," Raph choked out, sprinting for the bathroom and promptly throwing up the contents of his stomach in the toilet. He took a shuddering breath as he wiped his mouth. Standing straight, he stumbled to the sink and rinsed his mouth out with a glass of water.

"Raph?" a voice suddenly called. Raph turned and saw Don and Leo both staring at him. His eyes fell to the smears of blood covering both of them. "Raph, you okay?" Don continued.

"Blood," he croaked out, pointing at them. They looked down and tensed.

"How did we not notice that?" Leo whispered faintly. Don looked sick.

"Get out. I'm gonna take a shower," Raph growled. Don and Leo nodded faintly and stepped back outside the bathroom. Raph locked the door behind them, then promptly stripped all of his gear off and stepped into the shower stall. He made the water extra hot, as if to burn the blood off.

Outside, Leo gently put a hand on Don's shoulder. "You okay?"

Don stared in shock at his bloody hands. "How could we not notice something like this? This is Mikey's… life!" he whispered in shock.

"We… we were in shock…" Leo replied softly, now unable to focus on anything but the blood on his body. "We were too focused on - on other things…" _That's no excuse,_ he thought grimly.

They both jumped as a phone rang. Don's fingers fumbled with his shell cell as he pulled it out of his belt. "H-hello?"

"Donnie, you're never gonna believe what happened!"

* * *

"Rick, what's our ETA?" the head paramedic asked as the ambulance peeled out away from the curb in front of O'Neil Tech. He was rapidly attaching Mikey to several different machines.

"Five minutes," the driver called. "I've already radioed ahead, Jim - they've got docs prepping for surgery now."

"Good - at this rate, this kid's gonna need it," Jim replied, turning back to face Mikey and April, who was tightly gripping his hand. "Ma'am, I need you to keep putting pressure on the wound for now. I'm gonna-" He was interrupted by a series of beeps and wails. "Shit!"

"What's going on?" April cried, her face whitening with fear.

"His heart rate's spiking for some reason!" Jim answered, gently moving her hands away from Mikey's chest to examine the wound. They both stared in wonder. "What the hell?"

April tilted her head. The wound in Mikey's chest was… _How's this possible? _April wondered as the wound started… healing itself. They could see tissue forming from the inside out. Within a minute, all that remained of the wound was a scar and the blood coating Mikey's chest, which was rapidly drying. "Rick… I think you can cancel that emergency surgery," Jim said faintly.

"What are you talking about? Did we lose him?" Rick demanded, glancing in the rearview mirror.

April and Jim both shook their heads. "No," Jim replied. "The wound - it's - it's gone!"

"What? Whaddya mean, gone? Wounds just don't disappear!"

"This one did," April interjected. She glanced up at Mikey's face when he started moaning softly. "Mikey? Mikey!" she called softly, placing a hand on his head.

Mikey's eyes fluttered open for a brief moment. April looked into his pain-filled blue orbs - they were still exactly the same eyes. "Ap-ril," he murmured as his eyes slid shut again. His head lolled to the side.

"Lady, this is one lucky kid," Jim said as he started grabbing some supplies. "I'm gonna start him on a saline drip and a sedative. He's probably dehydrated from all the blood loss, and he needs to rest. Rick, radio that he'll probably need a CAT scan or something… just to be safe. But the wound… it's completely healed."

"Is he gonna be all right?" April demanded.

"I honestly couldn't tell you for sure - I've never seen anything like this," the medic told her seriously as he efficiently stuck an IV in Mikey's left arm. "But from what I can tell… he should be okay. As long as that wound completely healed on the inside and he doesn't have any other internal injuries, I would say he's gonna make a complete recovery."

"Oh thank goodness," April said with a sigh. She winced slightly as she felt pain flare through her chest. At Jim's questioning look, she quickly said, "My muscles were just really tense. I'll be fine." After a long moment, the medic nodded doubtfully. He didn't have time to comment though - they had arrived at the hospital.

"Ma'am, I'm gonna have to ask you to wait here in the lobby," a receptionist called as they rushed in.

"But-"

"Mrs. Jones, I'll personally see that he gets the best treatment, and I'll let you know what's going on," Rick told her reassuringly as Jim informed some of the doctors and patients what had happened, wheeling Mikey out of sight. April felt a lump form in her throat as the doors swung shut behind them. "I promise," the medic added, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.

April nodded. "O-okay," she stammered. "But I need to be there for when he wakes up. This is his first time that he's really been away from his family, and now with this…"

"I understand perfectly. He probably won't be waking up again until tomorrow morning at the earliest. I think the doctors are going to want to keep him sedated for a while. You will be kept well informed, and I think that, in light of the circumstances… I'll go in and talk with some of the doctors and see if we can't waive the normal visiting hours for you and for… Mikey, was it?" April nodded. "For the rest of Mikey's family, if they want to visit."

"Thank you so much," April said, trying hard to keep her tears held back.

Rick smiled faintly. "You'll get through this - both of you," he reassured, before turning and leaving. With a sigh, April went to the front desk and inquired where she could shower and change.

Two hours later, April was sitting in a very uncomfortable plastic hospital chair in a spare set of hospital scrubs, watching Mikey sleep peacefully. His skin was clean of blood, but quite pale, and his long, curly brown hair was damp and stuck to his forehead from being washed earlier. His eyes fluttered beneath the lids, as if in a dream. April watched him for a long moment, staring in wonder at the prone form lying in front of her. _He looks just like a normal guy - a good-looking one, at that_. Suddenly another thought hit her. _I never called the guys!_

With a quick glance out the door to make sure no nurses were approaching, she pulled out her cell phone and punched in a speed dial, standing up to pace. She chewed her lip as the other end rang, unconsciously shoving the window open in an effort to perhaps ease the pain in her chest and the vague queasiness of her stomach. _Damn flu_, she thought, grasping her stomach lightly. She hadn't been feeling too well for awhile, and the last thing she needed now was to get sick while Mikey was in the hospital. When Don gave a shaky greeting, she pushed her thoughts aside and exclaimed, "Donnie, you're never gonna believe what happened!"

_A/N: Hope I got that out fast enough! Like I said, I'm not sure exactly how long each section will take - I'm trying to make them longer so they're worth the wait, and I wanna make sure they flow well before I post them! Thanks for reading, and drop me a review if you get a chance!_

_Coming up next: The start of a recovery - and a horrible new twist... _

_Thanks again for reading!_

_moogsthewriter_


	4. Waking Up

_A/N: Whoohoo! Another 8 reviews! Again, I'm short on time, so thanks to all who read and reviewed and added alerts... you guys are awesome! So let's get right into it!_

**_Rating: PG-13 for language and April/Casey mushiness..._**

"And now we're in a private room," April finished, sitting back in her chair. "He's resting now - the doctors said he should be fine - the only thing they saw on the CAT scan was a broken rib and some deep bruising around his lungs. He's a little dehydrated from the blood loss, but they figured they'd better not give him a transfusion - they were worried about it reacting with whatever was in his bloodstream."

"So - so the wound just - healed?" Don croaked faintly, speaking for the first time since his weak greeting. He had collapsed back onto the sofa, and Leo and Raph were now gathered around him. Worry lines had carved deeper and deeper into their faces the longer Don went without speaking. But at these words, they looked both confused and slightly relieved. "Is there a scar or anything?"

"Yeah, there's a pretty big one," April told him. "It was amazing, though, Don - it was like watching a high speed version of a small cut healing itself, only this wasn't a very small cut. I've never seen anything like it."

"It must've had something to do with Jen-Ju's spike," Don said with a sigh, rubbing his eyes. It was good news - great news, but yet another piece to the increasingly complex puzzle. "Not that I'm complaining - I was kinda worried about how his blood could react to a transfusion."

"At least now if the doctors come up with any abnormalities because of his change, we can blame it on his attacker. Speaking of which, have you taken care of… the necessary arrangements?" April asked in a slightly softer tone.

"Yeah. I've got a basic file on Mikey made, and I'll work on making a more in-depth one, and I took care of the security footage, although I haven't taken a look at it yet."

"Wait to look at it until I can come, would you? I'd really like to look at it," April requested.

"Sure. Is there anyway we're gonna be able to sneak in to see him tonight?" Don inquired after a rather wild, humorous attempt at sign language from Leo and Raph. Don shook his head wryly, unable to bite back a grin. Raph raised a fist menacingly, but Don ignored him.

"You should be able to at least look in the window. I'll see if we can get you in between shifts - right now, the nurses are being pretty sporadic in their visits - I think the doctors are still worried that Mikey might react badly to whatever-" April suddenly cut off, looking up as Mikey stirred slightly.

"Ape? What's up?"

April waited a moment before answering, "I thought he was waking up for a moment. Doesn't look like it for now, but one thing's for sure - whatever Jen-Ju had in that spike must be burning off the sedatives."

"Interesting… We'll be over there within the next hour or so - just have a few things to take care of first," Don told her with a look at Raph and Leo. Leo nodded, then sprinted off to the vacated bathroom to wash up.

"Okay," April said. She turned as the door opened and smiled. "Casey's here now. Talk to ya later."

"Thanks, Ape. Bye."

"See ya," April said vaguely, standing up to greet her husband with a kiss. She carelessly dropped the phone onto Mikey's bed so she could wrap her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

After a moment, they pulled apart for air. "You're a sight for sore eyes," Casey breathed. He glanced at the bed. "How's the kid?"

"You're never gonna believe this," April told him seriously as Casey sat down in her vacated chair. Casey pulled her into his lap as she told him about the ambulance ride over. When she was done, Casey whistled softly. "I know. Everything go okay back at the lab?" she asked, snuggling closer to him.

Casey rested his chin on the top of her head. "Sorta. I told the cops what you had said earlier - didn't wanna let anythin' slip, y'know? But…" He trailed off with a sigh, running a hand through her hair. "The families showed up."

April stiffened and sat up, looking him in the eyes. His deep blue eyes were shrouded with sadness. "Oh, no," she whispered.

"I - I'm sorry, babe, but I couldn't - couldn't face them, knowin' - knowin' what had happened. 'Specially the kids," he choked. "So I went home for a bit 'fore makin' my way here. I jus' couldn't take it."

"It's okay, hon," April said softly, stroking his face gently. "I'll - I'll call them all soon."

Casey didn't reply - he just pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to her hair. April closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him, breathing in his scent, willing the ever-growing queasiness in her stomach to vanish, along with all of the horrible memories of the day. She didn't know exactly who was supposed to be working tonight, but she knew each of her employees, at least in passing, and she was not looking forward to giving each family the bad news. Forcing the gruesome memories to the back of her mind, she fell into a fitful doze, feeling safe and secure in her husband's arms, with only one thought crossing her mind: _Mikey took a hit for me…_

She jerked awake about an hour later when Casey shifted and exclaimed, "Babe, I think he's wakin' up!"

* * *

The light seemed to be forcing its way into Mikey's eyes. In the far off distance, he could hear the sounds of birds chirping - _probably Donnie watching Animal Planet or something._ A faint but familiar voice called out to him. "Michelangelo. Michelangelo! It's time to wake up, my son!"

"Five mo' minutes," Mikey groaned, rolling over. He frowned a little in his sleep. Why was his bed so… tickly? It felt like he was lying on grass. _But that can't be… _

He slowly forced his eyes open. With a gasp, he sat up straight and looked around. "Dude, where the shell am I?" he wondered, rubbing his eyes from the brightness of the sun. Through watery eyes, he could see he was lying on a grassy hillside with a small forest at the base of the hill. He could make out a few lazy wisps of smoke curling up from the trees - signs of early morning life. "What happened?"

"What do you think happened?" a very familiar voice asked from right next to him. He turned and gasped.

"Sensei!"

The wizened old rat nodded sagely, a small smile pulling at his mouth as he sipped tea from a cracked cup. "What do you think happened?" he repeated.

Mikey stared at him in confusion. His eyes suddenly widened as memories of the battle came back to him. "Jen-Ju… in the lab… that spike…" He looked at his sensei with huge eyes. "Am - am I… dead?"

Splinter shook his head. "No, my dear son, you haven't died - not yet."

"How do you know?" Mikey asked.

"_You_ would know," Splinter replied. "Trust me, my son, when I say that you would know if you had passed on."

"Then… then why am I here? Why are you here? I-"

"You are here, Michelangelo, because I need to speak with you about something. Something very important," Splinter interrupted. Mikey immediately shut his mouth and turned so he was kneeling in front of his father. Splinter set his teacup aside and laid a gentle hand on Mikey's head. "This may be a hard concept for you to understand, my son, but please believe me when I say… you have become a human."

Mikey's eye ridges shot upwards. "A - a human? How?"

"Jen-Ju's spike contained a powerful magic that has transformed your body. I am telling you this because as we speak, your physical body is being taken to a human hospital. I believe Ms. O'Neil-"

"Actually, it's Mrs. Jones, now," Mikey broke in with a big grin.

Splinter's eyes flashed in surprise and happiness. "Well, it is about time. However, as I was saying, I believe that Mrs. Jones is traveling with you. But, as you must understand, it is unlikely that your brothers will be there when you awaken. You must remain calm when you wake up in order to protect both yourself and your brothers. Do you understand, my son?"

"Yes, sensei." There was a faint pause. "What's gonna happen now?"

"That is not something I can reveal. But know this - you and your brothers are about to enter into an epic battle the likes of which you have never faced before - not with Shredder, not with Winters. It is a battle that you must win. It is a battle that you cannot win unless the four of you stand together as brothers," Splinter urged.

Mikey nodded. "I understand, Father," he whispered. Splinter smiled, then hugged his son gently. Mikey buried his face in the rat's fur. It still smelled the same, even if the scent was very, very faint. "I miss you. We all do," he choked out.

"You have grown much in the time I have been gone, my son. You all have, and I am very proud of all of you. Make sure you let your brothers know how proud I am," Splinter replied softly, pulling away. Mikey nodded again, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Am I gonna see you again?"

Splinter chuckled. "Hopefully not for a very long time, my son."

They spent what seemed to be the next few hours idly chatting. They even sparred together for a little bit, just so Splinter could see how much Mikey had improved in his skills. "And the guys have done even more than me," Mikey exclaimed. "As usual."

"I am glad to hear it, my son," Splinter laughed. "Your skills have matured greatly. You are no longer a child, that is for certain."

Mikey blushed faintly. "Thanks, Dad."

Then he blinked, then blinked again. The world around him was starting blur and fade. They both glanced up as a faint voice exclaimed, "Babe, I think he's wakin' up!"

"I think this is goodbye, my son. Do not forget - you must all fight as family," Splinter called faintly.

"Yes, sensei!"

"I love you, my son. Good luck, Michelangelo!"

* * *

April sprang to her feet, moving so that she was sitting on the bed next to Mikey. She gently ran a hand over his hair. "Mikey? Michelangelo," she called softly as Mikey stirred. "Wake up."

"C'mon, Mikey, wake up," Casey added from over her shoulder.

At long last, Mikey's eyes slid open. He looked up at them, his baby blues sparkling faintly. "Hey, Ape. Hiya, Case."

"Hey, kid, glad to see ya alive," Casey said with a grin.

"Mikey, listen to me, and don't freak out okay?" April began hurriedly. "You're-"

"Human, I know," Mikey broke in softly. April and Casey stared at him in shock. "Master Splinter told me already," he explained.

April and Casey opened their mouths to question him, but froze when they heard footsteps approaching. They all looked up as the door opened wider. A young brunette nurse stepped in. "Sorry, I've just come to-" She suddenly froze when her eyes fell on Mikey. "Oh!" she squeaked. "You're awake!"

"Am I not supposed to be?" Mikey asked, confused. "How long've I been out?"

"Not long, considering you started out with a big hole in your chest," the nurse replied, coming over to take his temperature.

"Stah'ed?" Mikey spluttered around the thermometer in his mouth. "Wha' ya mean, stah'ed?"

"Perhaps I'll let your friends explain it, 'cuz I sure can't," the nurse replied, shining a light into each of his eyes. Mikey fell silent, looking very confused as she took his pulse and blood pressure readings. Finally, she pulled the thermometer out of his mouth. "Well… everything seems to be normal. Let me just go fetch one of the doctors," she said, discarding the thermometer cover into a nearby garbage can marked with a biohazard symbol and hurrying out.

"Ooo-kaaay…" Mikey said, looking back at April and Casey. "Quick summary, please?"

"Basically, you stopped breathing when the spike in your chest suddenly dissolved and turned you human. Then on the way to the hospital, the hole in your chest inexplicably healed up, and apparently whatever's in your blood is burning through the sedatives in your IV - you weren't supposed to wake up till this afternoon," April said hurriedly, glancing at her watch to check the time. Three in the morning - way too early to be dealing with this stuff.

Mikey gaped at them, then looked down at himself. He raised his hands, taking in the pale skin and the extra two fingers on each hand for the first time. When they started to shake, he quickly put them back down on the bed, clenching his fists tightly. "On the weirdness scale of one to ten, this falls in the fifteen range," he quipped weakly. "Even for us." His eyes suddenly widened as he thought of his brothers. "What about the guys? Are they okay?" he asked quickly.

"Yeah, I think so - I just talked to Don not that long ago, and he didn't mention anything - they were definitely in better shape than you when we saw them last, though," April replied.

They immediately stopped talking as the nurse reentered, followed closely by another redheaded female doctor. April and Casey stood up and backed away to give the two women room. "Well, Mikey, you gave us all quite a scare. How're you feeling?" the doctor asked pleasantly, taking his vitals again.

"Fine. I'm pretty sure I'm just as alive and kicking as I was when she checked me," Mikey replied with a wry grin, pointing at the nurse.

Both the doctor and the nurse laughed. "You've got a sense of humor, I see," the nurse said, flashing him a smile. Mikey's mouth went inexplicably dry.

"Do you remember anything about what happened?" the doctor asked on a more serious note.

Mikey froze, quickly glancing at April and Casey, before replying, "N-no. The last thing I remember was this… this thing… attacking. I think he launched something… like a - like a spike or something… from his wrist. That's what hit me." He glanced up and saw April and Casey nodding in approval of his story.

The two women glanced at each other. "That sounds absolutely frightening," the doctor said sympathetically, patting his arm. "However, you seem to be doing fine to me. Why don't you try to get some rest," she added, glancing at April and Casey.

"We'll be leaving in a few minutes," April assured her.

"All right, then. Goodnight," the doctor said, striding back out the door.

"Sleep well, Mikey!" the nurse giggled, waving slightly as she left, closing the door behind her.

Casey whistled. "Damn, Mikey, I think someone's got a crush on ya," he said. "Maybe I should start checkin' into hospitals more often." April cleared her throat and folded her arms, glaring sharply at him. "B-but only if y-you can be my nurse, babe," he added quickly as Mikey laughed.

April raised an eyebrow. "I'll let it slide for now, Jones," she said sternly.

Casey grinned and kissed her. "Better?" he asked as they pulled apart.

"Much," April replied breathlessly before yanking his head back down for another kiss.

"Eww! Hello, turtle - er - human still here! Get a room or something! That's just gross!" Mikey exclaimed, making fake gagging noises.

Casey and April pulled apart. "You're just jealous," Casey shot back as April snuggled in closer to him. Mikey stuck his tongue out at him. "You haven't changed a bit, kid."

"Ya know ya love me," Mikey replied, settling back into his bed.

"Yeah, we do. And now that I know you're feeling better…" April turned to face him and started waving a finger at him harshly. "Michelangelo Splinterson, if you ever, I mean _ever_, pull a stunt like that again, I will skin you alive and use your shell for a mixing bowl!" Then she bent over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "But thanks for saving me," she added softly.

Mikey blushed. "N-no problem," he stammered out. He paused for a moment, wondering if he should point out that he no longer had a shell to use as a mixing bowl. This led to a different train of thought, and he said slowly, "Um… is there a mirror somewhere so I can… so I can see what I look like?"

April reached over to her purse and pulled out small compact. She silently handed it to him, sitting on his bed as Casey sat back down in the chair. When Mikey hesitated, his hands shaking, April said softly, "If you aren't ready…"

"No, no! I can do this," Mikey exclaimed, determination crossing his face. He flipped the compact open and stared. His mouth fell open and his eyes widened as he stared at himself. April and Casey looked at each other as Mikey slowly reached up and touched his nose, tugged on an ear, fingered his hair. "Whoa."

"If it's any consolation… you're quite handsome," April told him sincerely. "It's no wonder that nurse has a crush on you." Mikey didn't reply; he just continued staring at himself, jaw agape.

"Ya better be careful, bro, or a bug's gonna fly in your mouth," a gruff voice suddenly called from the open window. The trio jumped and looked at the window. Three green heads were peering in, looks of relief and happiness clearly visible on their faces.

"Guys!" Mikey exclaimed joyfully, moving to stand. He winced as pain flared through his chest and the needle of the IV pulled at his arm.

"Easy, bro," Don called as Casey moved to take out the screen. "You shouldn't try to get up yet. You've still got a busted rib, not to mention all that blood you lost."

"You okay?" Leo asked quietly, nimbly climbing in first. April moved away from the bed to give them room and to guard the door.

"Doing a lot better, now that you guys are here," Mikey said with a smile as his brothers crowded around him. His blue eyes quickly scanned over them, immediately falling on the bandage taped to Don's side, Raph's swollen shoulder, and the wrapped foot that Leo was propping up on the end table. "You guys alright?"

"Y'know us," Raph replied with a one-shouldered shrug. "We can take our licks."

"How are you feeling, Mikey?" Don asked, peering closely at his younger brother's face.

Mikey shrugged. "Pretty good, considering. Kinda sleepy, though," he added through a yawn.

Leo looked to April and Casey. "How'd he take the whole human bit?"

Casey smirked. "He was totally calm."

The turtles all glanced at their brother in surprise. "Really?" they all exclaimed.

Mikey nodded, leaning back on his pillows. When he tried to fluff them, Raph took them from him and did it himself. "Thanks, bro," Mikey said softly. Raph smiled faintly, smoothing out the blankets around him. Mikey sighed, then said, "I saw Splinter. He prepared me for… well… this." He held up his hands and looked at them wryly.

"You saw Sensei?" Don asked in disbelief. Mikey nodded, quickly telling them all that Splinter had told him. When he was done, there was a moment of silence.

Finally, Raph took a quiet, shaky breath. Mikey could tell he was struggling not to tear up. "S-so… epic, huh?" he stammered out.

Mikey nodded again. "Bigger than any fight with Shredder, and even bigger than the one in Winters' tower."

They all stared at him with wide eyes. "Really?" Don asked.

"That's what Splinter said."

"It probably has something to do with all of the portals that Jen-Ju was talking about," Leo muttered thoughtfully. His eyes were shrouded in thought as he stared down at the floor.

"Portals? What portals?" Casey demanded. "What're you talking about? What happened in the lab before we got there?"

They all froze as quiet voices came near Mikey's door. "…shouldn't disturb him, sir, we just checked on him not half an hour ago and he was fine. He needs to rest and get whatever was put into his system out," a female voice was saying. Mikey, Casey, and April recognized the doctor's voice.

"I believe that is my call to make, Dinette," a deep voice declared. Don's brow furrowed in concentration. Why did that voice sound so familiar?

"Hide!" Mikey hissed. April flicked the light off. As a hand turned the doorknob, the turtles were out the window. April and Casey stealthily slid into the small bathroom attached to the room and shut the door. Mikey slumped back in his bed, pretending to be asleep. With a loud creak, the door opened a few inches. Mikey forced himself to relax.

"See, I told you - he's fine," Dinette murmured.

The man with her snorted softly. "I'm going to need to do a full set of tests on him come the morning - blood panel, physical - the works."

"But Dr. Bishop, sir, he has just gone through a severe physical and mental trauma! It is too soon to put him through that kind of activity!"

Mikey felt his breathing hitch and his heart speed up. His mouth went dry. It took all of his self-control to remain in his bed and not dive through the window, screaming for his brothers as horrible memories flooded back at the mention of that horrible name. Bishop? Surely not… but they had… He shifted slightly, as if in sleep, so that he could crack his eyes open to peer at the figures. He could only make out the faint silhouettes… but one of the silhouettes was horribly familiar…

"I believe I told you before, that this is my call. I have been placed in charge of this case, and there will be a full set of tests run in the morning," Bishop said sternly. "Now, I believe you have rounds to finish?"

A faint sigh; then a defeated, "Yes, sir. I'll make sure the next rotation knows of your request." There was a quiet shuffle of footsteps as the smaller silhouette disappeared from sight. Bishop lingered for a long moment.

"Rest easy tonight, boy. You're in for some rough treatment - especially if you're who I think you are," he murmured, a smirk in his voice. The door shut again, and after a moment, the footsteps faded away.

Nobody moved for a long moment. Mikey squeezed his eyes shut, trying to breathe, snuggling deeper into his rather scratchy pillow, trying to force horrible memories back into the recesses of his mind… _Not Bishop… anyone but that b-_

"Mikey?" Leo called softly as he snuck back into the room. April flicked the light back on. Everyone appeared to be in shock.

"Was that really - there's no way…" April breathed, clenching her fists tightly by her sides. "It can't be - it just can't!"

"I thought we took care o' tha' sonuva-" Raph's angry expression faded when he saw the look of terror on his younger brother's face. He swiftly moved so that he was next to Mikey, looking him right in the eyes. "We're not gonna let him getcha, bro," he promised fervently. "I'd rather die than let him do anythin' to ya again." Mikey swallowed and nodded weakly.

"He can't be back - we killed him!" Leo exclaimed softly.

"He's Bishop - he's survived the impossible before," Don replied grimly. "Do you think he knows about what really happened?"

"He s-suspects," Mikey croaked. They snapped their heads around to face him. "He suspects. I gotta get outta here, guys - I can't - I can't face him-"

"We ain't gonna leave ya here," Raph said determinedly, wrapping his younger brother in a fierce hug. He could feel Mikey's body quivering and reflected for a brief moment how different it felt to be hugging his no-longer-turtle brother. That thought was quickly shoved aside by the thought of the nightmares that were no doubt running through Mikey's head… all of the horrible things Bishop had done to the youngest turtle years and years ago… "It's gonna be okay, bro," he whispered in Mikey's ear, tightening his protective grip. Mikey silently laid his head against Raph's plastron.

"How're we going to get him out, though?" Leo asked. "It's not like they'll just let him check out on a whim, especially now that Bishop's ordered those tests. If the other doctors are like that one, they're probably all intimidated by him!"

April chewed her lip, sitting down on the end of Mikey's bed. Suddenly she grinned and looked up at them. "We could kidnap him." Seeing their confused looks, she continued hurriedly, "Look, it wouldn't be totally out of the question for Mikey's 'mysterious attacker' to show up and take him again - he's supposedly the only eyewitness to what happened back at O'Neil Tech. I'm surprised the police hadn't thought of that earlier and ordered a guard. We could fake a kidnapping."

Leo and Don glanced at each other, then at Mikey and Raph. Slow grins spread across all their faces. "That could just work," Leo said softly.

"Hell, we got the Battle Shell parked a couple blocks away," Raph added, finally releasing Mikey, a determined glint in his eye.

"Where would we go, though?" Mikey asked.

"You could hang out at the farm for awhile - Bishop never really found out about that place," Casey suggested. "It's technically not under my name."

The turtles nodded. "Don, you'll have to deactivate the machines, though - we don't want to set off alarms when we disconnect Mikey from them," Leo said. Don nodded, immediately moving to do what Leo told him.

"Casey and I will stick around here for a little bit. There should be enough canned food and supplies to keep you until we arrive," April added.

"What about me?" Mikey asked. Noticing their looks, he explained, "Well, I can't really walk around in this cheapo hospital gown forever - it's not the warmest thing." He plucked at the woeful garment.

"There's a spare set of clothes in the side car of my bike," Casey told Raph. "You could grab 'em on the way out. There should be a buncha stuff at the farm, too."

"We'll bring up some better-fitting clothes when we come," April told Mikey. She turned to the others. "Casey, we should go out the window, too. Once the guys are clear, I'll walk in, claiming I forgot my cell phone. Then I walk in here, find Mikey gone, and pull the whole worried friend bit." Casey nodded.

"Let's do this, then," Leo declared.

"I'm all set," Don added, standing straight. The machines had powered down and become silent.

"Okay, then," April said, taking out her cell phone and setting it on the end table. She looked at Mikey. "You ready?"

Mikey pulled off the tape holding the IV tube to his arm, then slid the needle out. He pulled off a few more wires, then said, "Yep. Let's go."

_A/N: So... for anyone who's confused, just a little reminder that this is a slight AU - so in this story, there was never "Good Genes". Bishop is still a crazy evil guy, but he did something years ago to Mikey... which you'll find out about in the next chapter. And for those of you who think this is going too fast... it's going to slow down quite a bit now..._

_Coming up: Leo reminisces about the turtles' last meeting with Bishop... revealing some inner thoughts along the way._

_Thanks for reading, and we'll see you later!_

_moogsthewriter_


	5. Nightmares Past and Present

_A/N: Whew! Finally got this ready! Thanks for all of the reviews, guys! It makes me happy to see so many people reading my stories - you are all so awesome. So here's a few shoutouts!_

_**BelloftheSea** - Thank you so very, very much! I'm glad you are enjoying this - your review really made my day! Hope you continue to enjoy it!_

_**Artemisdesari **- Oh, yes, I am quite sure there will be some tension... not for a while, though..._

_**Maiden of the Undead **- Thanks for the review! Glad you liked the fluffiness, and your words flatter me! Enjoy!_

_**Larissa **- Here you go!_

_**IAmTheWalrus909** - Thanks for appreciating that - trust me, there's A LOT that has yet to be revealed..._

_**memyselfandi89** - How did I hook you so well? Hmmm... must've used good bait! _;) _And yes, more bad guys definitely makes for a more interesting story!_

_**vashsunglasses** - Once again, thanks for the advice. I got to thinking that the only real experience I've had with anything close to it is giving blood, and that's not exactly the same (and I didn't even really describe it all that well, either...) So, once again, thanks, and I'm sure I'll be taking you up on your offer eventually - if not with this story, then definitely with others!_

_**Lady-Of-The-Rings** - I'm glad I could put you in suspense - hope I didn't make you wait TOO horribly long..._

_**Just-Caro** - Glad you liked it! Thanks so much for the kind review! Enjoy this next part!_

_**KleeZeeNex** - Yeah, I definitely have a hard time writing Leo stuff... I think it's because he's my least-favorite out of all the turtles (although not by much - they're all so awesome!)_

_**KriStALKaLEi** - I'm glad you like the combination - I really enjoy putting it together. Speaking of which..._

_Okay, for everyone, this next part is a defnite break from both the series and the movie - just so that's clear before we move on. THIS DID NOT HAPPEN IN THE SERIES... at least, nothing this bad. I made it up to add to my story. Once again, this gets back into gory stuff, so just to warn you. Also, in case the label isn't clear enough, the flashback takes place a little under six years before the main story... and it does hop a little bit back and forth between the past and the present (hence the chapter title). opefully everything else is clear (at least, everything that's supposed to be clear...) _

_I also wanna give a special shoutout to my cobetas **katielgk, KleeZeeNex, asherfreak,** and **MickeyJo **for giving me opinions! You guys rock! So, without further ado..._

_**Disclaimer: Only the plot belongs to me.**_

**Chapter 5: Nightmares Past and Present**

Twenty minutes later, Don was easing the Battle Shell onto the route that would take them out of New York City and over to Northampton, Massachusetts. "How're you doing back there, guys?" he called, looking in the rearview mirror.

"How the heck can humans stand wearing shoes?" Mikey exclaimed furiously, trying to lace up a pair of Casey's old sneakers. "These things are driving me nuts! And all of Casey's stuff is like three sizes too big! Owwwoww," he finished in a little whimper, rubbing his chest.

"Take it easy, bro," Raph cautioned, reaching over and pulling out a bottle of juice from a little mini-fridge bolted to the floor. "Drink this. It'll help ya recover from all tha' blood loss."

Mikey grunted as he unscrewed the cap and drained half the bottle in one go. He sighed and sat down on the bench seat next to Leo. "Thanks," he said to Raph when he finally took a breath.

"Get some rest, little bro," Leo said gently, putting an arm around his brother's shoulders as Mikey drained the juice and shoved the empty bottle into a cup holder.

"M'kay," Mikey muttered, curling up slightly and laying his head down on Leo's shoulder. After a moment, he whispered, "Thanks for not leaving me, Leo."

"You're still our brother, Mikey, whether your human or turtle. There's no way we'd leave you. No way," Leo told him firmly, squeezing his shoulders. Mikey smiled contentedly, but didn't respond. Gradually, Leo felt his brother's body relax as he drifted off to sleep. He glanced up as Raph stood.

"Someone's gotta keep Don company," Raph explained with a slight shrug at Leo's questioning glance. His eyes lingered for a long moment on the sleeping Mikey. He finally reached up and grabbed couple of blankets, tossing one in Leo's lap and unfolding the other one to lay it across Mikey's prone form before he went up and slid in the passenger seat. Leo smiled at Raph's actions, using one hand to unfold the blanket over his legs and adjusting his body slightly to get a little more comfortable. He leaned his head back, the steady thrum of the engine and the soft voices of his brothers lulling him into a light doze. His thoughts drifted for a while until they settled down on one subject.

Bishop.

Leo felt his forehead tense slightly. Bishop… someone he had thought he would never see again. Someone who had hurt and tortured his family to the extreme. Ever since the turtles' first meeting with the agent, Bishop had chased after them without abandon. For nearly two years, the turtles had dealt with both attacks from both Bishop and the Shredder. Each encounter with the deranged man had left the turtles (and Master Splinter) with a few more scars, but still relatively unscathed - right up until their last meeting.

Not too long after their final defeat of the Shredder, and six months before Leo had gone to Central America, the four of them had just finished patrolling the city as per their usual routine. Leo subconsciously tightened his grip on Mikey as he thought about what had happened to the youngest. What had been a relatively easy, peaceful night was about to kick off the worst couple of days of their lives…

* * *

_Almost six years ago_

"Dudes, there's nothin' goin' down tonight! Can we just go home? I'm hungry," Mikey whined for about the fifth time that night.

"Mikey, you're always hungry," Raph growled angrily. He sighed and looked over at Leo and Don. "But he's got a point."

"They're right, Leo," Don said to the blue-clad turtle. "We've only stopped one mugging tonight. We should go home and take advantage of the down time."

Leo frowned a little bit, looking out at the city skyline. "I know, I know. It's just… I can't shake this feeling that something's gonna go down tonight. Something bad."

"Look, the city's been pretty quiet since we kicked Shredder's ass," Raph interjected. "I think you're jus' gettin' paranoid in your old age."

Leo cocked an eye ridge at his smirking brother. "Old age, huh? I'll have you know I can still move faster than you, Raphael."

"Oohh, full names," Mikey said dramatically. He grinned and gently prodded Don with his elbow. "This is gonna be good." Don grinned back.

"Ya think so?" Raph said, folding his arms. "I bet ya I can beat alla you home."

Leo smirked. "All right, guys, let's head back. Last one to the lair has to do dishes for a month. Agreed?" he challenged.

"We're all doing this?" Don asked skeptically. "Seriously?"

"Unless you don't think you can handle the challenge, Donnie," Mikey teased. Don looked into each of his brother's faces. They waited expectantly. His brow furrowed in thought.

Finally, he grinned and leapt over them. "Agreed! Onyourmarkgetsetgo!" he shouted with a laugh as he leapt across the alley and started heading back for the lair.

The other three stared at each other in shock. "Donatello? Cheating?" Leo asked in amazement. "That's something I figured Mikey would've done."

"Hey, I resent that!" Mikey exclaimed, taking off after Don. "Donnie, wait up!" he called.

Leo and Raph glanced at each other one last time before heading off after their brothers. "I'm gonna win tonight, Leo," Raph growled as they ran shoulder to shoulder across the rooftops.

"We'll see about that," Leo replied with a smirk. He suddenly veered off to the left. "See you back at the lair!" he called with a laugh. Raph growled and headed for another shortcut.

Ten minutes later, Leo stumbled into the lair. "Man, you _are_ getting slow, bro!" Don called from the couch. He grinned triumphantly. "What took you so long?"

"Someone wanted to try and separate a lady from her purse," Leo replied, collapsing onto the couch next to his brainy brother. "Where's everyone else?"

"Sensei's meditating in his room, and Mikey and Raph aren't back yet."

"Speak for yerself, Don," a gruff voice suddenly called from the entrance. Leo and Don glanced over and saw Raph striding towards them. He had the beginnings of a bruise forming on his cheek. At their questioning glances, he said, "Carjackin' near the park. One of 'em had a tire iron tha' I didn't see 'til almost too late." He sighed and sank down into a chair, eyeing his older brother. "Leo, one of these days we're gonna race home, jus' you an' me wi' no interruptions."

"Sounds good, Raph," Leo said honestly. He stifled a yawn and noticed the others' same attempts. "Go to bed, guys. I'll wait up for Mikey - he shouldn't be too much longer."

"Wonder why he ain't back yet - he's pro'ly the fastest," Raph commented through a yawn as he stood and headed for his room.

"He's not going to be happy to be put on dish duty, though, that's for sure," Don added, heading for his lab. "G'night."

"G'night, Donnie," Leo called as he heard the door to Raph's room swing shut. He sighed contentedly, burrowing slightly into the couch and closing his eyes. It was nice to end a night without a screaming match between him and Raph during a fight… that was starting to happen too often for Leo's liking. He planned to meditate with Splinter again as soon as Mikey got back - _which should be soon_, he thought, nestling into the couch even more. Maybe he could find a solution for his and Raph's bickering… and perhaps figure out why he still had an extremely uneasy feeling that something horrible was going to happen… and _damn_ this couch was comfortable…

* * *

"Leonardo? Leonardo, my son!" a gentle voice called. 

Leo's eyes opened and he sat straight up. "Sensei, what-" He paused, looking around the lair, realizing that they were not under attack - just in the living room of the lair. He yawned a little, rubbing his eyes. "Wh-wha' time izzit?" he moaned sleepily through his yawn.

"I believe it is about seven o'clock, my son," Splinter replied. "I had just come out to see why you were not up at your usual time when I saw you on the couch. What were you doing, Leonardo?"

"I was waiting for - Mikey!" Leo suddenly leapt to his feet. "We split up coming back home last night - we were racing and… did Mikey ever come home?"

Splinter stared at him, the faintest hint of worry creasing his brow. "I did not hear anyone enter after Raphael arrived in the evening."

Leo felt his heart speed up slightly. "Maybe he snuck in after I dozed off," he muttered, heading for Mikey's room and sliding the door open. As far as he could tell, Mikey had never returned - although it was a difficult call to make, as it always looked like a hurricane had ripped through the small room. One quick glance could reveal Mikey's great passions - comic books, videogames, food, painting, and drawing. A large stack of comic books lay next to Mikey's bed, looking about ready to spill over. Sketches were posted all over the walls, spread over Mikey's desk, and there were even a few on some discarded pizza boxes. There was an easel in the corner with a half-finished painting propped on it and several other paintings stacked around it. Leo could see a couple handheld videogames on Mikey's bed, along with his old stuffed bear. Leo shook his head in exasperation for a moment - he didn't know how Mikey could stand living in this mess, let alone find anything of his in it. However, the lack of movement supported the idea that Mikey was gone. "Maybe he went to April's? Or Casey's?" he suggested half-heartedly, turning back to face his sensei.

"I do not think Michelangelo would have done such a thing without contacting one of us, but it is always possible," Splinter replied gravely. Leo bit his lip.

"Wha's goin' on?" Raph called sleepily, stumbling out of the room next to Mikey's. His eyes popped open wider when he saw the worried look on Leo's face. "Leo, wha's up?"

"Mikey - he never came home last night. I must've dozed off…" Leo trailed off, mentally berating himself - how could he have been so _stupid_? Just dozing off like that…

"Didja call Ape or Case?" Raph asked. Leo shook his head, and Raph immediately headed into his room and grabbed his shell cell of a small end table. He emerged again, the phone held up to his ear, muttering, "C'mon, c'mon, pick up, ya big lummox…"

"M'ello?" a tired voice slurred.

"Case, it's me. Mikey didn't come ta visit ya last night, did 'e?" Raph demanded.

"Mikey? No, why?" Casey asked, sounding slightly more awake. "Is he missin' or somethin'?"

"Maybe. I gotta call Ape a sec; I'll call ya back, okay?" Raph replied. When Casey replied in the affirmative, Raph hung up. "He says he hasn't seen 'im," Raph told Leo and Splinter shortly as he punched in April's number.

"Guys? What's going on?" Don called, emerging from his lab. His eyes scanned over them. "Where's Mikey?"

"We don't know," Leo replied shortly. "He didn't come home last night. Guess I fell asleep waiting for him." Don started chewing his lip as Raph wrapped up his conversation with April.

"… Yeah, okay, I will. See ya." Raph slid his phone shut and looked at his family. "Ape hasn't seen him, either." His mouth was set in a grim line, and Leo could see worry flashing in his brother's dark brown eyes.

"I sense something terrible has happened to Michelangelo," Splinter told them softly. "I will try to contact him mentally."

As Splinter moved to get into a lotus position, Leo turned to Don and said, "D'you think you could track down his shell cell? Maybe get a fix on his location?"

Don smirked faintly. "Do turtles have shells?" he asked as he headed back to his lab, pulling out his own shell cell. Leo and Raph followed him as he hooked the phone up to his computer and quickly typed in a few commands. After a moment, the computer screen zoomed in on a dot. Don frowned. "That's not too far from here," he said slowly.

"Come on, we'd better get up there," Leo urged, standing straight and heading for the entrance. Don quickly unplugged his phone and sprang up after his brothers.

Splinter opened his eyes as they passed. "I cannot contact him, my sons. You must hurry," he told them grimly.

The turtles glanced at each other. "C'mon," Raph growled, taking off in a sprint.

Five minutes later, they were approaching the phone's location. "I don't see him anywhere," Don said softly from the rooftop as he peered down in the alley.

"Fan out - look for any clues to what might have happened," Leo ordered. Raph and Don nodded, and they leapt down into the alley together, then began covering different areas.

"Guys," Don suddenly called, standing straight from his position in a pile of garbage. Leo and Raph turned to see him holding a broken blaster. Their eyes widened as they looked at Don. "It's one of Bishop's," Don confirmed.

"Shit," Raph hissed softly as he went back to searching his section of the alley.

"I've got his phone!" Leo exclaimed, picking up the shell cell from its spot next to a wall. His keen eyes spotted something sticking out from underneath a pile of newspaper. "And there's another blaster here," he added after shoving the paper aside with his foot. He whirled as he heard Raph suck in a breath. "Raph?"

Raph slowly turned and straightened. Leo felt his stomach drop. Cradled in Raph's hands were Mikey's nunchucks. He sensed Don come up behind him, barely breathing. "They - they must've ambushed him," Raph choked out, looking up at them. His hands clenched into fists around the weapons. "Bishop's got him!"

* * *

Leo jerked awake with a start. He blinked, wondering what had woken him. Up in front, he could see that Raph, too, had dozed off. He had tipped the backrest back and propped his feet on the dashboard. Don had the radio playing softly, and Leo could hear him muttering to himself, probably vocally working out a math problem or something to stay focused. Leo smiled faintly. 

His head shot down when he heard a strangled whimper. Mikey's face had twisted into a faint look of terror, and he was gripping the blanket tightly in his fists. "Shh, Mikey, it's okay," Leo whispered soothingly as Mikey whimpered again. He had no doubts as to what Mikey was dreaming about - the two days that he had been Bishop's captive. "You're safe, bro, I'm right here," he murmured, placing his free hand on top of Mikey's head in a calming gesture. He marveled for a moment at the silky-soft feel of the hair on Mikey's head. After a moment, Mikey's face relaxed and his hands eased their grip on the blanket.

Leo sighed, wiggling the fingers of his right hand. His arm was falling asleep because of the way Mikey's head was pressed into it, but he didn't want to wake up his brother. Leo let his head fall back against the side of the Battle Shell, letting his thoughts drift again.

Two days. It had taken them two long days to track down where Bishop was holding Mikey. And even that was a stroke of luck - Casey had been out looking around when he spotted several of Bishop's armed guards entering an old warehouse downtown. The turtles and Master Splinter had immediately headed for the warehouse. After a few hours of sneaking around, they had discovered a way into the underground base, but it had taken another couple hours before they had located Mikey. Leo suppressed a shiver at the memory of stumbling into that room…

* * *

"Can you smell something, sensei?" Leo whispered as they paused before rounding a corner in the hall. 

Splinter had raised his snout slightly, taking a few deep sniffs. "Yes, Michelangelo is close by… but there's a heavy scent of blood in the air," he murmured grimly. Raph growled quietly. "This way, my sons."

The rat led them silently around the corner towards a door at the end of the hall. As they approached, they froze, hearing voices ahead. "… really would stop if you would just tell me what I want to know," a voice was saying. There was a faint moan that must've counted as a response because the voice continued, "They aren't coming for you, Michelangelo. You must realize that by now - you've been in here for a long time - don't you think they would've found you by now if they were truly looking?"

They all looked at each other, then crept closer so they could make out Mikey's response. "…don't care 'bout me doesn' mean I'm gonna tell ya where they are," he said weakly with a hint of determination.

Leo felt the blood drain from his face as he heard a deep, familiar chuckle. "This is your last chance, Michelangelo - I can end all the pain now if you only reveal where your little clan lives."

"Bishop," Mikey said with a little more forcefulness, "take your offer and shove it up your ass."

"'Atta way, kid," Raph hissed with a smirk.

Splinter waved them forward silently as Bishop tutted. "Such language. It will be my pleasure to-" The rest of his words were drowned out as a loud buzz of what sounded like a saw filled the air. They stopped for a brief moment in shock as a piercing scream rang throughout the hall.

"Mikey!" Raph suddenly shouted, rushing forward and banging the metal door with such force that it popped forward and fell to the ground with a crash. He hurled a sai at Bishop's back as Leo came up next to him. It hit its target, but Bishop didn't stagger forward. Instead, he merely turned around, turning off the buzz saw and stepping away from Mikey, allowing them to view his… work. Leo felt his heart stop for a moment, and he heard horrified gasps all around him.

Mikey was strapped to a steel surgical table. All of his gear was gone, and everything around him was soaked with blood. Leo could see numerous gashes across Mikey's arms and legs, as well as the beginning of one at the top of his plastron. Many of the gashes had stopped bleeding, and a few looked like they may have been cauterized. He was hooked up to all sorts of machines, and there were several vials on a nearby table filled with samples of blood and tissue. "Guys!" he croaked out weakly. Leo felt his heart lurch when he saw tears in his brother's baby blue eyes. "You came!"

"Step away from my son, Bishop!" Splinter demanded fiercely, stepping forward. Leo, Don, and Raph all settled into attack stances behind him, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, identical looks of rage on their faces.

Bishop smirked. "I think not," he sneered, powering up the saw. Leo saw Mikey quail in fear. "Haven't you ever wondered what's underneath those plastrons of yours?" Bishop continued over the whine of the saw, turning back towards Mikey, the sai still poking out of his back. Blood stained the back of Bishop's white lab coat. "Let's find out, shall we?"

Moving with an almost unheard of speed, Splinter leapt forward in between his son and the saw. He knocked it out of Bishop's hands, the sharp spinning blade nicking the sleeve of his kimono. A small bloom of blood began spreading across the fabric, but Splinter ignored it, settling into a defensive position in front of Mikey. "I will not repeat myself again, Bishop - step away from my son!" he growled.

Bishop sneered and with a loud roar launched himself at the rat. Splinter fought back, throwing Bishop back into the table with the vials, causing them to crash to the floor and shatter. "No!" Bishop shouted, but before he could do anything about his lost samples, Splinter attacked him again.

Don and Raph immediately went to help their sensei. Leo sprinted over to Mikey. "Oh, Mikey," he breathed, quickly slicing through the thick leather straps binding Mikey to the table. He caught his brother before he could slide to the ground.

"How long has… it really been?" Mikey gasped.

"Two days," Leo replied sorrowfully. "Mikey, I'm so sorry-"

"For a while, it felt… like months," Mikey whispered, clinging to his oldest brother. "I thought maybe - maybe-"

"We would never abandon you, Mikey. Never - we searched the entire city for you," Leo said firmly, tightening his hold on his brother.

Despite the obvious pain he was in, Mikey grinned faintly. "Knew you would," he croaked. "Knew when I… saw your faces… you hadn't stopped lookin'…"

"None of you are going to leave this room - not alive, anyway," Bishop snarled, causing Mikey and Leo to snap their heads in his direction.

"This has gone far enough, Bishop," Splinter snarled, launching a kick at the scientist's back. He moved with speed and agility that his sons had not seen in a while. His face was still twisted in a look of righteous fury. "It ends tonight!"

"Never seen Sensei… so pissed!" Mikey gasped faintly.

Leo hesitated, itching to get in on the fight, but Mikey's wheezing breaths reminded him of the much more serious situation at hand. "C'mon, let's get you out of here," he muttered, starting to move toward the door.

"Not so fast, Leonardo," Bishop suddenly growled, leaping high over the other three to land in front of the helpless pair. In one swift move, he had tossed Mikey aside like a rag doll and had hoisted Leo into the air, one hand wrapped firmly around his neck. "I told you that none of you would leave here alive, and I will keep that promise," Bishop sneered as Leo choked and spluttered, struggling to get free.

"We'll see about that!" Raph exclaimed, leaping forward. His sai pierced through Bishop's forearm, causing the villain to drop Leo, who quickly scrambled backwards, drawing his twin katana. Don and Raph quickly stood next to him, and Splinter landed in front of them. A quick glance at Raph's empty left hand told Leo that one of his brother's sai was still embedded in Bishop's back.

Bishop stared at them for a long moment, a look of something akin to disbelief etched on his face as he clutched his bleeding arm. "You really think you're going to win, don't you?" he asked. He smirked, sliding into an attack stance. "I'm afraid I'll have to-"

His chuckle suddenly died in his throat. They all stared in shock as a split-second later a sharp metal point gleamed from his forehead, blood spurting out around it. Two bulges appeared on either side of the wound, as if something wanted to poke through. Then the metal point retreated, leaving a bloody hole. Bishop's eyes glazed over as blood streamed down over his shocked face. He collapsed to the ground a moment later, revealing Mikey standing behind him, Raph's sai in his shaking hand. He stared at them in complete shock a moment before pitching face first in a dead faint.

* * *

Leo's eyes popped open again as Mikey stirred slightly. He felt a tingling sensation cascade down his numb arm as blood started flowing again before Mikey settled back against him. Leo sighed and stared down at his little brother's innocent face. The image of Mikey collapsing to the ground in a bloody heap was still clear in his mind. Despite their happiness at Bishop's defeat, they still had a lot to worry about. Splinter had immediately mentioned worriedly that Mikey's use of force could have used up the last energy he had left - and he was still bleeding all over. That fact more than anything had jerked the others out of their reverie and into action. They had quickly gathered him up and raced home, leaving an exploding building in their wake. Two transfusions, several hours of some ad-lib surgery by Don and April, and two weeks of lying in a coma later, Mikey had opened his eyes for the first time since passing out at the lab and had immediately asked for pizza, much to his family's delight. 

Leo's mouth twisted ruefully as he listened to Mikey's deep, even breathing. Once he woke up, Mikey's recovery had been relatively quick and smooth… except for the nightmares. For nearly a solid month, everyone in the lair was awakened each night by the sounds of Mikey's wild screams, results of his horrible nightmares. It had taken several intense sessions of meditation with Splinter and another month of Raph camping out on Mikey's floor for reassurance before the nightmares disappeared.

The tension, however, proved to be too much for Raph and Leo's splintering relationship. Leo had blamed himself for not being aware of Mikey's disappearance right away, while Raph felt guilty for letting Bishop get his hands on his precious baby brother. The resulting anger from each turtle had no outlet - Bishop was gone, killed by Mikey's hand, which meant they could not avenge their brother. And with Shredder gone and the Purple Dragons relatively under control, that left only one outlet for the rage - each other. Their fights became epic, and they often went days without talking to each other. That was partly the reason why, a few months after Mikey had fully recovered, Splinter had approached Leo and suggested the trip to Central America.

But now… Bishop was back. Mikey's torturer, the man that had helped to drive a wedge between Raph and Leo, a man who was psychotic in every aspect of the word, was back. Every rational thought in Leo's mind screamed, "Impossible!" There seemed to be no logical explanation - the villain had been stabbed through the head, and his lab had exploded around his ears. His eyes had glazed over with death. There was no way he should be alive.

Leo shifted slightly, moving his arm so that it was draped protectively around Mikey's shoulders. Out on the hospital fire escape, he had almost managed to convince himself that it was just a wild coincidence - that perhaps, at one point, there had been a set of Bishop doppelgangers; two Dr. Bishops in the world, each with a deep, eerie, almost velvety voice, each with a strange obsession to find out about unknown specimens. But the pure terror he saw on Mikey's face when he had reentered the room, coupled with Bishop's words before he had shut the door, had convinced him - Special Agent John Bishop was back, and he once again had Mikey in his sights.

"I'm not gonna let him get you, bro," Leo murmured when Mikey whimpered again. "He won't touch you again."

He looked up sharply as the Battle Shell suddenly slowed. Mikey's head jerked up and he looked around sleepily. "Whaz goin' on?" he mumbled.

"We're here guys," Don announced as the farmhouse appeared in the windshield. He brought the vehicle to a complete stop, then sighed and turned in his chair as Raph sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He smiled faintly at Mikey and Leo. "We made it."

_A/N: And that's it for now... Thanks for waiting. I'll warn you now, it could be a little while before the next part - I'm currently working two jobs in the few weeks before college starts so I can have some extra money and in less than a month I'll have started my first year of college - so it's gonna be pretty busy for awhile. But once again, I appreciate your patience, and I want to reassure you that there will be more coming - I'm actually attempting to outline this story (which is something I NEVER do for a story) so it shows you how serious I am about this fic! Thanks again for reading, and drop me a review if you get the time!_

_Coming up: The boys get a little down time, while things start heating up back in the city..._

_Ciao!_

_moogsthewriter_


	6. A Little Bit of R&R

_A/N: I am so sorry that it took this long! Freshman year of college is rather crazy. Thanks for being patient! And to everyone who reviewed last chapter, thank you so much! I really appreciate it! I hope I didn't lose all of my readers, so if you've waited this long for it... thank you! I'm finally going to start adding in more characters of my own! Yay! Onto the story!_

_Special thanks once again to **asherfreak, KleeZeeNex, katielgk, **and **MickeyJo** for beta-ing this for me!_

**_Disclaimer: Not mine. Only the OCs introduced in this are mine. _**

**_Rating: PG-13 to be safe, but I took one reviewer's comments to heart and really cut back on the swearing. And it still works... imagine that._**

"Come on, let's get inside, then," Raph moaned, opening the door. "It's like freakin' five in the morning and I wanna sleep."

"Amen to that, bro," Don said with a yawn as they all piled out of the vehicle. He reached back up and grabbed his gadget bag before slamming the door shut.

"Whoa, easy there, Mikey," Leo cautioned as Mikey stumbled forward. He grabbed his brother's arm to keep him from falling over. "You sure you're okay?" he asked.

Mikey gave a lopsided grin. "You know me, Leo - morphine and I aren't the greatest of pals ." He looked around and shivered a little. "'S cold out here," he muttered.

"Your drugged up brain figure that out all by itself?" Raph teased with a smirk. Mikey rolled his eyes and followed Don into the farmhouse. Leo paused on the deck and turned back, looking around. The air was crisp and cold, filled with the scent of the dying leaves of fall. The moonlight made the trees look solemn, almost sinister. His head jerked up when he heard the faint hooting of an owl. The bird flew across the sky, silhouetted by moon.

Leo sighed contentedly. It wasn't often he got to stand outside and not hear any traffic or voices fluttering up from the city below. It had been a long time since they were up here - too long, in Leo's opinion. His eyes widened slightly. _Last time we were up here was for Splinter's burial,_ he realized. His eyes immediately scanned the ground in front of the barn. He could make out the faintest hint of a mound. The rosebush they had planted over top of the grave had no buds, but there were still many leaves on it. Leo felt his heart twinge a little bit. "Leo? You comin'?" Raph called, stepping back onto the porch.

"How come we only come up here for bad times?" Leo asked softly, never taking his eyes off the grave.

Raph moved so that he was standing by his brother. His eyes followed Leo's gaze, and his throat closed up. "Dunno," he said gruffly, leaning against the porch railing.

"I mean, we only ever come up here when someone's hurt or-" Leo cut off, casting his glance down at the ground.

Raph paused for a moment as Leo struggled to get his emotions under control. "We could start comin' up here more often," he murmured finally. Leo glanced up at him. "I mean, if that's what you want. It's… nice… up here," he finished with a shrug. Leo smiled faintly. There was a moment of silence before Raph finally said, "What're we gonna do about Bishop?"

The smile dropped off Leo's face. He sighed, rubbing his neck. "For now? Lay low, I guess. At least until Mikey recovers and all the commotion on the news over this dies down. I don't like it either," he said as Raph snorted, "but we don't have much choice."

"I just don't see how that guy's alive," Raph muttered as they headed back in. Mikey and Don turned, getting blankets out of the hall closet while listening to the conversation. "I mean, he got a sai through the head, _and_ we blew the place up!"

"Yeah, I mean, I know he's gotten out of some bad situations before, but…" Mikey trailed off, moving to dump his armload of blankets on the sofa. He stifled a yawn, then winced as pain laced through his chest. "I think this has been the longest night of my life," he mumbled.

Don grunted in agreement as he deposited his pile of blankets on the floor next to the couch, sending up a small cloud of dust. _It's almost impossible to believe that less than ten hours ago we were training on that rooftop,_ he thought as he started unfolding the blankets. "Don, what're you doing? There's a bunch of beds upstairs," Mikey pointed out.

Leo moved to help the purple-clad turtle. "We're gonna sleep down here tonight," he declared, shaking the dust out of a quilt.

They all jumped when they heard a loud thump, whirling to see Raph dropping a mattress on the floor. He cocked an eye ridge at them. "What? I intend to get my full eight hours, and I'm not gonna get that on a hardwood floor," he told them, heading back for the stairs. "I'll be right back."

"You guys don't have to-" Mikey began.

"Mikey, I'm not going to be able to sleep unless I know you're safe, okay? So just… play along," Don said, looking his brother straight in the eye.

"Besides, this way hopefully we'll all keep the nightmares at bay," Leo added as Raph reappeared with two more mattresses. He immediately set one up for his bed.

"Now get your butt on that couch and go to sleep 'fore you pass out," Raph ordered, marching over and forcing Mikey to lie down. "You're whiter than a sheet."

Mikey stared at them all for a moment, then sighed and smiled. "Thanks, guys," he whispered as he relaxed back into the couch cushions. "G'night."

"Technically, it's morning," Don whispered sleepily, settling down onto his mattress. That brought a chuckle from each of his brothers. Don smiled faintly, staring up at the ceiling as he sensed the others drifting off to sleep around him - even Leo, who didn't normally sleep a lot, fell into a deep sleep, judging by his breathing. Every now and again, there was a soft snore from Raph, and Don could hear Mikey's heavy breathing from up above him on the couch. He sighed, letting his eyes drift close as the previous night's events ran through his head again. Two questions kept popping to the forefront of his sleepy mind: _How can Bishop be alive? And what are we going to do about Mikey? _At the rate his brain was going, it would be unlikely that he would… be dropping off… to sleep… anytime… soon…

* * *

Don blinked blearily, then gingerly rolled over on his back. Sunlight was streaming in through the cracks in the curtains, illuminating lazily floating dust specks in the air. He stared blankly for a moment, wondering what had woken him up. Then he heard the quiet sound of utensils clattering against pots and pans and the tantalizing aroma of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. His eyes flicked up toward the couch, and he saw that the blankets Mikey had used earlier were draped over an armrest. Don grunted as he sat up, reaching up towards the ceiling and feeling the satisfying pop of some of his joints. Next to him, Raph muttered something in his sleep as he rolled over, burrowing himself deeper into the blankets. Leo's bed was also empty.

Don stumbled towards the kitchen, leaning on the doorframe for support. Before he even knew what happened, a mug had been shoved into his hands, and he took a sip without thinking about it. The welcome taste of hot coffee slid down his throat, and he took several more sips, blinking blearily at his grinning brother. "Man, Don, that caffeine kick of yours is gonna kill you someday," Mikey teased, heading back toward the stove to flip some pancakes.

"Might already be too late for that," Don agreed with a chuckle. His eyes fell on the figure leaning back in a chair. "When you'd get here?"

"'Bout an hour an' a half ago," Casey replied with a smirk. "You and Raph were snorin' loud enough ta wake the dead. Mike and Leo were already in the kitchen havin' some tea."

"Where is Leo?" Don asked, settling into another chair and wrapping his hands around the warm mug, taking another long draw of the black liquid. One quick glance around the small kitchen revealed no blue-clad turtle.

"Outside meditating," Mikey replied quietly. "I think he's by sensei's grave." Don's eyes narrowed slightly, and he didn't comment.

"Where's April?"

Casey's face fell slightly. "Home. By the time the police and the doctors had finished questionin' us about Mikey's 'kidnapping,' she was real pale. Started pukin' the moment we arrived back home," he answered wearily. "She thinks it's the flu, and she never could handle bein' sick."

Don clucked his tongue in sympathy. "Man, that really sucks. How did it go last night after we left, anyway?"

A hint of a smirk creased Casey's lips. "The media went bonkers. So did the police and the doctors - though luckily for us, Bishop didn't show up again. I did catch a glimpse of him at the end of the hall, and he looked real pissed off, but he stayed away. Probably doesn't want us to know he's alive."

Both Don and Casey jumped in shock as a plate crashed to the ground. They whirled to see Mikey hurriedly scooping up bacon onto another plate, cursing softly. "Sorry, guys," he murmured, standing up and setting the plate onto the counter without looking at them. Don stared at his brother as he started sweeping up the shattered pieces into a dustpan. His thin frame looked positively tiny in Casey's too-large jeans, held up by a tightly cinched belt, and by the giant, faded gray sweatshirt he had pulled on. His dark brown hair made his pale skin stand out all the more, and Don could see Mikey's hands shaking as he dumped the plate into the garbage.

"Mikey, maybe you should sit down," he suggested softly. "I can finish breakfast."

"N-no, I'm fine, I can do it," Mikey said hurriedly, whirling around to look at his olive-green brother. His blue eyes were large, and Don could see the faintest hint of panic in them. "I wanna do it, Donnie."

Don frowned slightly as Mikey moved to grab another package of bacon from the fridge. "I take it you brought all the fresh food?" he finally asked Casey, never taking his gaze off his younger brother.

"Yeah," Casey replied. "Figured you guys might want somethin' besides canned goods and stuff. And I wanted to make sure there would be enough food and stuff. Didn't get a chance to get any smaller clothes, though," he added apologetically.

"I already told you, Case, it's fine - I'll survive for a little while wearing your old stuff," Mikey told him over the sizzle of bacon in the pan. Don noticed with some relief that Mikey's hands had stopped shaking, and he seemed to be a little calmer. _Guess we need to be careful mentioning Bishop around him, then,_ he thought, taking another swig of his coffee.

He glanced over his shoulder as Raph stumbled into the kitchen. "When we eat?" he grunted, blinking rapidly.

Mikey smirked. "When turtle talk good English, that when," he joked, pouring another cup of coffee and handing it to the red-clad turtle. Raph glared at him for a long moment, draining half the mug in one go. He blinked a few more times as he took another draw from his mug. Suddenly his eyes bulged and he choked on his coffee. Mikey stared at him in confusion. "What's wrong, bro? Not to your liking?"

"What the shell are you doin' up?" Raph demanded, wiping his mouth off furiously. "You should be restin'!"

"Raph, I've got a broken rib, not paralysis," Mikey said patiently, nudging his brother towards the table. "Besides, if I hadn't been up, Case or Leo would've been the ones makin' the coffee, and I know how much you despise rocket fuel first thing in the morning-"

"Okay, I get your point," Raph said with a wry grin as Casey folded his arms angrily and Don chuckled. He sniffed the air, eyeing the stove. "I think your pancakes are burnin'," he added with smirk, leaning against the sink.

Mikey's eyes widened and he whirled around. "Crap!" he shouted, rushing forward to pull the pan off the burner. Don smiled as his brother gingerly scraped the blackened flapjacks off the pan and into the garbage. "Perfect. Just great," Mikey muttered under his breath, reaching over to grab a paper towel. He winced slightly as he grabbed it and began wiping the pan down. Don and Raph exchanged looks as Mikey set the frying pan back on the burner and poured more batter over the hot surface. He grabbed a set of tongs and flipped the bacon with one hand, stirring some scrambled eggs with the other.

Raph glanced at the plates on the counter already heaped with steaming breakfast foods. "Yeesh, Mike, what're you tryin' ta do, feed an army?" he commented, raising an eye ridge.

"No, just you and Casey," Mikey replied with a grin. Raph rolled his eyes.

"Har har," Casey growled. "For your information, some of us had to get up 'fore one in the afternoon. I've already had breakfast."

Don choked on his coffee a little. "O-one o'clock?" he spluttered.

"Actually, it's almost two now," Mikey offered, scraping the rest of the scrambled eggs onto a larger plate. Noticing the looks on his brothers' faces, he shrugged and commented, "Well, we didn't go to bed till like five."

"That's true, I guess," Don replied, getting to his feet to take the platters of food to the table. Raph moved to grab some dishes from the cupboard.

"Morning," Leo called as he entered the kitchen quietly. His eyes lit up. "Great! Breakfast! Or is it technically lunch?"

"Brunch," Raph and Mikey said together, grinning at each other as they sat back down at the table.

"How come you only got four plates, Raph?" Casey asked, looking at the stack of plates in front of Raph.

"Well, you said you already ate breakfast, so I figured…" Raph trailed off with a satisfied smirk.

"I didn't eat lunch, though! I'm starvin'!" Casey exclaimed, moving to grab his own plate. The others started laughing as they started grabbing food for themselves.

They ate ravenously for about five minutes before Casey suddenly declared, "Oh, I fo'go' - the's a 'ewspa'er i' mah tru' 's 'bou' 'ike. Oo's. 'Orry," he added as he sprayed Raph with bits of eggs and pancakes.

Raph wrinkled his break and brushed himself off. "Wanna try that again - _after_ you swallow this time?" he said sarcastically.

Casey gulped noisily, then repeated, "I forgot - there's a newspaper in my truck. It's about Mike."

Leo paused, the fork halfway to his mouth. "What's it say?" he demanded, ignoring the food falling on the table.

Casey shrugged. "Not a whole ton, really - it's basically just speculation, although they did get a few of the guards' names out. It also mentions one survivor who was mysteriously taken from his hospital room. There's been quite an uproar about that."

"Oh, yeah, speaking of that, how'd it go?" Leo asked. He moved to eat the food on his fork, but was slightly surprised to find none left - it had all fallen on the table.

"Yeah, and where's Ape?" Raph added, noticing the redhead's absence for the first time.

Casey repeated what he had told to Mikey and Don already. "And Ape figured we'd better save you guys all the papers, so we can see jus' how this plays out in the media," he finished, taking a drink of orange juice.

"Any chance it's gonna drop off the radar any time soon?" Leo asked with a hint of a frown, shoving his eggs around his plate with his fork.

"Unless something just short of a nuclear attack on the city happens, I doubt it," Don replied grimly, glancing at each of his brothers. "This is the kinda think the media loves - a bloody attack with a mysterious perpetrator and a missing kid. Not to mention that it happened at O'Neil Tech, the location of a mysterious disturbance three years ago."

"On the other hand, if no one's able to feed the media new info, maybe it'll just die off and they'll move on to some other strange thing," Mikey suggested, a hint of doubt laced in his voice.

"Let's hope so," Leo declared, standing up and gathering the empty plates. "Or we could be stuck here for a while."

* * *

_New York City_

"Blevins! In my office! Now!" a harsh voice barked over the din of the newspaper office.

Mandy Blevins' head swung around, hazel eyes wide, coffee cup halfway to her mouth. "Whaddya think the chief would want with me?" she asked breathlessly, looking back at her best friend and coworker, Zaraida Bukhari.

Zaraida smirked, a twinkle in her dark eyes. "Oh, I don't know, maybe give you an assignment or something? I can't imagine why, though. It's not like you're a reporter or anything… oh… wait," she teased, focusing on her computer screen again.

"Ha ha, listen to the comedian," Mandy shot back, hurriedly brushing some of her dishwater blond hair back over her shoulder as she practically sprinted to the office.

"Try not to appear _too_ eager, girl," Zaraida called. "I've been telling you since we were eleven that you're easier to read than a picture book - and that's not a good thing around the Madman."

Mandy ignored her childhood friend as she opened the door. "You wanted to see me, Chief?" she asked calmly, taking a sip of her coffee. She cringed inwardly. _That didn't just sound like a Lois Lane knockoff,_ she thought sarcastically.

"Take a seat, Blevins," Maddox "Madman" Gaines ordered, gesturing at a small chair placed in front of his desk. Mandy obeyed, gripping her coffee cup tightly in both hands. Gaines peered at her with his rather beady blue eyes, idly pulling at his small mustache perched on his very round face. "You've heard about what happened down at O'Neil Tech, right?"

"You mean with that mysterious attack and the kid that went missing?" Mandy replied, sipping her coffee again. "Who hasn't?"

"The kid's got a name now - Michael O'Neil," Gaines said shortly, standing up with a thin file in his hand. He moved around the desk and set the file down on her lap. Mandy picked it up and rifled through it as Gaines perched his rotund frame on his desk, one thumb hooked through his suspenders. "Apparently he's related to April O'Neil-Jones - a cousin, or some such nonsense."

"How come no one's seen him before?" Mandy asked, curious. "There aren't even any pictures in this file!"

"That's the point - no one _has_ heard about him before. This kid just showed up out of nowhere - all we managed to find was a small file on him from O'Neil Tech's personnel computers," Gaines replied. "This kid is supposedly twenty years old, related to one of the most famous women in the country, and no one's ever heard a peep out of him before, apparently. It says he was home-schooled, he has the equivalent of a third-degree black belt, whatever the hell that means, and no license. The guys down in research can't even find a birth certificate for this kid."

"So he suddenly appears just to disappear again? That's interesting," Mandy murmured, perusing the file again. Gaines was right - there really wasn't much listed in this personnel file. She looked at the mailing address given. "Manhattan, huh? Isn't that where O'Neil-Jones lives with her husband?"

Gaines smiled thinly. "Right in one. Apparently he was living with them. Would you be interested in finding out more about this kid?"

Mandy's head shot up. "Me?"

"Blevins, you've already shown to me that you're interested in this. I've asked three of my top reporters, and they all told me they'd prefer not to go on a wild-goose chase. Something just seems off with this kid, and I want someone to go after him. Think you can handle it?" Gaines said soberly.

Mandy swallowed, then nodded. "You can count on me, Chief - I'll find out everything there is to know about Michael O'Neil."

"Good. Don't let me down. You know what'll happen, right?"

Mandy stood, doing her best to hide her nervousness. "Yes, sir. I won't let you down, Chief," she answered firmly.

Gaines grinned. "That's what I like to hear! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a meeting to get to over in circulation," he told her, placing a beefy hand on her shoulder and giving her a not-so-subtle nudge out the door.

Mandy stared as her boss disappeared down a corridor, then looked back down at the file still clutched in her hand. "I may not know what you're hiding, O'Neil - but I will find out," she murmured. "Soon everyone will know exactly who you are. That I promise."

_A/N: Just a note... none of these characters are the one that was introduced in the Prologue. But don't worry - she'll be making an appearance soon! Thanks again for reading, and we'll see you later!_

_moogsthewriter_


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